(June 10, 2011) — “I met my best friend, Meri Simonyan, while I was eating breakfast with all my best friends from middle school,” said senior Ruzan Asatryan. Had it not been for the freshman pancake breakfast, Asatryan is unsure if she would have met her best friend later on in high school. Like Asatryan, senior Henrik Kantarchyan also met his two best friends, Andre and Hayk, during the pancake breakfast. All three are currently close friends, although Hayk no longer attends Clark. The pancake breakfast, which took place Sept. 14, 2007, was a chance for freshmen to meet their class advisors and those they would graduate with. After a brief welcome speech from ASB advisor Susan Giatti and an introduction to their class advisors, Armineh and Ani Mikaelian, the students were dismissed in true Clark fashion, by the color of their polo. Senior Natali Mishigian remembers wearing a green polo the day of the breakfast and being dismissed first. “While waiting in line, we watched a slideshow from the previous year’s prom, that made me wonder about my senior year and prom,” said Mishigian. The students enjoyed a pancake and sausage breakfast prepared by teacher Randy Tiffany in his chef’s hat and Principal Doug Dall, while ASB officers helped pass out the food. Senior Laura Mkrtchyan remembers the pancakes being delicious, but the sausages being overcooked and burned. “After standing in line and getting our breakfast, my friends and I walked around and met new people; that’s where I met my friend Ani,” Mkrtchyan recalls. Asatryan admits she was shy in the beginning of the school year because she was going to school with a thousand new people, most of whom she didn’t know. At the breakfast, she was able to open up and meet new people. “It was an exciting and cool start to our freshmen year and to our next four years at Clark,” said Asatryan. Many students remember the pancake breakfast as their first “Clarkie” experience because it is something that the other high schools in the district don’t have. Mkrtchyan said she had high expectations for Clark and the unique pancake breakfast helped her keep a positive outlook on her school year. Kantarchyan felt that it was a good way to welcome incoming freshmen, and it sent out a good vibe for the start of their next four years. He said that although the breakfast made the students closer to the school, many of the freshmen were sitting in small groups with their middle school friends. “Now everyone is closer and friends with each other,” he said.