Article by Phoenix writer James Watkins ’26:
It is common to lose one’s water bottle at Kellenberg Memorial; hundreds of students share the experience every day. These bottles are found at random and brought to the Lost and Found and the Phoenix Emporium, where they are forever left unclaimed. Precious money is wasted as people continuously go through bottle after bottle. This is a problem that has plagued the school for numerous years.
Brother Michael McAward stated his concerns, “Things like losing a water bottle are often overlooked by most people, but it ends up becoming a big deal over time. I wanted to take initiative and to care.”
His first idea to combat the issue was implementing a lost and found bin in the hallway next to the Phoenix Emporium. This worked well, but it became too filled and unorganized over time. This year, a second way was created: a shoe rack was put on display for anyone to find or drop off any bottles. Though it worked well for a time, it too became overfilled.
One might wonder what the next course of action would be. When trying to come up with a proper system for one to return a bottle to their rightful owner, Brother Michael McAward had an epiphany of sorts.
He illustrated, “It is a shame that replacing a water bottle is so expensive. I came up with the idea of using my electric engraver to write a person’s initials on the bottom of their bottle, and administration was in favor.”
Around sixty students have already become part of this monumental movement to end the loss of bottles. This is an insider tip: metal bottles work best when used with the vibrations of the engraver. The entire process takes less than a minute and is completely free of charge, and there is always at least one person in the Phoenix Emporium who is able to help with engraving.
Kellenberg is truly a place where anything and everything can be recognized and fixed, no matter how small it might seem to the eye.
