A jack-o-lantern workshop had students digging deep, and not just for pumpkin seeds. They also dug up lots of happy Halloween memories.
TRIO College Programs hosted the event on October 19 at its offices in Gorham and Portland. Providing these kinds of reminders of home and family is one of the many ways that TRIO helps member students navigate the challenges of college life.
Students entered the TRIO offices to the familiar beat of Halloween music like Michael Jackson鈥檚 鈥淭hriller鈥 and the Ghostbusters鈥 theme. But the conversation between friends often overpowered the music as they got down to the business that brought them there.
The other ubiquitous sound was the gush of knives slicing through pumpkin flesh. The workspace was well-supplied with all kinds of cutting and scraping tools. Patterns were available to help with ideas beyond the usual smiling face. Anyone who preferred to keep their hands clean of orange goo had the option to paint their pumpkin instead.
Erika Santillanes, a freshman studying Occupational Therapy, had never carved a pumpkin before. She came to TRIO鈥檚 Gorham office with veteran carver Sarah Beaulieu, a sophomore Nursing major. The Nursing program was also well-represented at the Portland office by Rachel Jones and Jacquelyn Pisano, both seniors. All four of them have strong opinions about Halloween.
Favorite Halloween Costume
BEAULIEU: 鈥淥ne year when I was little I was a pirate and I ended up having a meltdown before going trick-or-treating because I didn鈥檛 have an eyepatch. And then I ended up not going trick-or-treating because I was so upset.鈥
JONES: 鈥淚 had a couple of really unique costumes, but they were never good. I was a spider, and that was really not done well. But recently, since I鈥檝e been in college, I鈥檝e been a witch for all four years. Probably will continue that this year.鈥
PISANO: 鈥淚 was a dalmatian from 鈥101 Dalmatians鈥 and my mom was matching when I was a kid. It was kind of cute.鈥
SANTILLANES: 鈥淎 fairy. I did a fairy for a couple of years. I don鈥檛 know why, but I just like the feeling of being a fairy, I guess.鈥
Favorite Trick-Or-Treat Candy
BEAULIEU: 鈥淧robably Kit Kats or Snickers. 鈥 They鈥檙e just good, chocolate!鈥
JONES: 鈥淚 feel like 100 Grand bars, 鈥榗ause they鈥檙e really unique. I feel like not a lot of people have them anymore. And definitely a lot of fruity candy I鈥檓 a fan of, but I can鈥檛 think of them right now. Not licorice, I feel like that鈥檚 not a good Halloween candy.鈥
PISANO: 鈥淚 love candy corn and a lot of people don鈥檛, which I don鈥檛 get. … It鈥檚 only around once a year and it鈥檚 good.鈥
SANTILLANES: 鈥淪our Patch Kids. I love them. They鈥檙e sweet and they鈥檙e sour. You can鈥檛 go wrong with that.鈥
Favorite Scary Movie
BEAULIEU: 鈥淧robably 鈥楰iller Clowns from Outer Space.鈥 It鈥檚 not very scary and I was able to get through it. But I also was watching it with a ton of my friends in broad daylight.鈥
JONES: 鈥淚 would say I鈥檓 pro-scary movie. I listen to a lot of true crime podcasts, too. 鈥楿s鈥 was a really great scary movie. … I just watched 鈥楾he Watcher鈥 on Netflix which is like a true crime show and that鈥檚 kind of spooky. It scared me.鈥
PISANO: 鈥淚 love the Conjuring series because they just keep coming out with them, so it鈥檚 always guaranteed horror movies. And I also really like the movie 鈥楿s.鈥 … I鈥檓 always the loudest in a movie theatre. It鈥檚 embarrassing going to horror movies with me because I鈥檓 always screaming, but I love them.鈥
SANTILLANES: 鈥淚 hate Chucky. I can鈥檛 watch Chucky at all. A lot of people are like, 鈥業t鈥檚 so good.鈥 No, it鈥檚 not. I hate dolls. I am extremely scared of dolls. I hate them so much.鈥