The smell of fresh muffins drifted from the McAfee Center steps. Students sat on the steps, their voices raised in worship at the the religious gathering, See You At The Pole, on Sept. 23.

Various high schools and middle schools all around the world host See You At The Pole events every year, where students gather under their school’s flagpole to pray with their peers.

This year, the event was organized by Impact Christian Club’s presidents, seniors Michael Z. Guo and Harrison Yang. Fourteen people arrived over an hour before school started at 7:30 a.m.

Guo and Yang planned See You At The Pole in order to unify the Christian community at the school and continue the long-lasting tradition of the annual See You At The Pole event.

“The main point [of the event] is that it establishes a stronger sense of community among the Christians at the school,” Guo said.

Guo began by playing worship songs on his guitar while everyone else sat and sang with him.

After they finished singing their songs, they began to pray. Separated into groups, the students talked about their school lives and classes and gave each other personal advice.

The students prayed for different groups: one for teachers, one for friends, one for the school as a whole, one for each other and one for anything they had troubles with. By praying, the students gained insight on the hardships of others.

“I think I learned a lot about being selfless and wishing for the well-being of others,” senior Michael Owyang said. “I'm not Christian and I don't go to church, but even so it was a good experience that I would recommend to everyone.”