All year, love has been blossoming between upperclassmen on campus. As seniors walk hand in hand to the McLeod Lot for their off-campus lunch date, or juniors meet by the two-person tables of the lower Castle, they convince themselves their love goes unnoticed. However, as Valentine’s Day rolls around, Sixies are more in tune than ever with who is dating whom in the upper school — or at least they think they are.
The first Sixies to answer the important question, “Which upperclassmen are dating?” were Lila Sawatzky, Ava Bryant, and Mack Auguste. This group came prepared, having pulled together an extensive list of couples, complete with social media screenshot evidence and detailed reasoning. Yet despite their preparation, Sawatzky, Bryant, and Auguste only correctly identified two couples.
This trio deployed a variety of techniques to create their couples. They started by citing the couples they had the most confidence were truly dating, based on the knowledge they had gained from their first few months on campus. It was here that they found the most accuracy, pairing together two correct junior couples, Rohan Rao and Izzie Hoffmeister, and Nate Sykora and Corey Kumin. They then moved on to the classic method of searching the directory for pairs of seniors and juniors they believed to have similar “vibes.” They matched Lara Sahagun and Lucas Ilzarbe, Matthew Newman and Emily Rowley, and Siena Marconi and Ryan Callahan (all Class I). “I also think Maddie Jaeger and Nathanael Jean-Gilles (both Class I) could be together. They have similar smiles,” Bryant said. On-campus exposure also seemed to play an important role in couple pairings. “I always see Isabel Goddard and Anran Liu talking after Middle School Mentors, so they might be dating,” Sawatzky said. Similarly, they matched senior SLC members Mack Smink and Kavi Shankar, as well as Annie Parrinello and Ariel Rabinovich, due to their consistent appearances together in assembly.
The next Sixie interviewed was Finn Smink. With two siblings in the upper school, Mack Smink (Class I) and Kirby Smink (Class III), Smink has connections to upperclassmen that gave him an advantage over some of his peers. He came prepared with knowledge of seniors he knew were dating, like Juju Fynn-Thomson and Julia Krepelka (both Class I). He then moved on to deductive reasoning, recalling some of the seniors he had seen on and off campus together as clues to who might be dating. “I think Bea Trinque and Teddy Rose (both Class I) might be dating, but I am not sure it’s him. I think I saw them at Chipotle, eating in their car, and Mack said something about it.” Smink was right: it was in fact not Rose that he saw, but rather Ryan MacCurtain (Class II and Trinque’s boyfriend). The two often get mixed up because of their similar appearances. “I also saw Kavi Shankar walking with Matthew Newman, so they could be together.” Like his peers, assembly airtime also seemed to play a role in Smink’s senior matchmaking. “Ariel and Annie are always in assembly together,” he said.
The final Sixie who attempted to identify junior and senior couples was Reid Klevens. Like Smink, Klevens had the advantage of having a sister in the junior class (Talia Klevens) and one who recently graduated — Sasha Klevens (N ’25). He attempted to capitalize on his Class II connection and focused primarily on identifying junior couples. He also attempted to use the classic directory-searching method. “I think maybe Reid Hauck and Tucker Cashman (both Class II),” Klevens said. When further questioned on the reasoning for this pairing, he responded simply. “They kind of look alike.” Although unsure of the accuracy this method would yield, Klevens also used it to pair together Payton Maley and Henry McLane (both Class II). He also used this method to make some Class I matches, such as assembly seat buddies Natalia Calvillo and Ryan Callahan.
Although most Sixies were largely unsuccessful at pairing correct couples, that doesn’t mean that their matches were entirely misguided. Whether it was a couple grounded in “vibes,” campus sightings, similar appearance, or simply random guesses, the Sixies matches reflect a logic that could fuel true love. So, if an upperclassman is still looking for love this Valentine’s Day, perhaps they should take some advice from a sixie. Maybe it is the person they are next to in the directory, or a friend they walk through campus with often, that could be their next Valentine.
