On Sept. 8 at the Palmieri Activities Center, Mount St. Mary’s Student Activities invited CJ’s Takeout and Late Nite Bite to the Mount to serve students from 6 to 9 p.m. It then held Trivia from 8 to 10 p.m. The event gave students a night away from dining hall food and the opportunity to get competitive. The Activities Management Program leaders who ran this event were Matthew Norris (C’24) and Olivia Smeltzer (C’24).
Trivia Night is an event that is frequently held here at the Mount. Norris mentioned that trivia is a great opportunity for students to test how much they have retained from their classes and “have a good time, win some prizes.”
The groups for trivia night were to be between 6 and 8 people and around 10 different teams participated that night. The winners of the night were a team named the Goldfish. The night was a huge hit; many students came to participate in trivia and support CJ’s. One student, Rachel Perine (C’25), voiced that she thought trivia was a great idea because “it allows people to show off talents that they might not be able to show off” normally.
The AMP leaders worked with a company called Pour House, specifically Adam who is helping with the trivia nights this semester, and they always talk with them before the events. They begin working on these events anywhere from two weeks to a month in advance depending on the size. Both Norris and Smeltzer were very thankful for the help from Pour House who took care of the trivia game itself.
Kate and Tony Hill, owners of CJ’s Takeout and Late Nite Bites, were glad to have been asked to come serve food at the Mount. CJ’s Takeout has come to the Mount a few times since 2020 and said that everyone is “wonderful to work with.” The students are their favorite part of coming to campus because they always support “rain or shine.”
CJ’s Takeout and Late Nite Bites usually have their food truck set up at their permanent location at 150 Carlisle Street Gettysburg, PA. They are open from Thursday to Sunday from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. They are “always happy to get out on the road” for events such as the ones at the Mount, weddings, wineries and festivals.
Smeltzer mentioned that the Mount tends to bring in various food trucks every year, but CJ’s is “a really big hit on campus,” so they come multiple times a semester. The AMP leaders usually check with CJ’s Takeout and Late Nite Bites around a month to schedule them to campus. Kate and Tony Hill commented that they “look forward” to returning to the Mount on Sept. 25 from 6-9 p.m.
The AMP leaders are “hoping to do at least three trivia nights” this semester, “once a month.” Students can look forward to more good food and fun at the PAC.