On Saturday, November 4, WA will host the annual Rajiv Paluri International Night. This will be the third time the event has been held and will take place from 5 P.M. to 10 P.M. at the school. The event is also being called a throwback teen center (TBTC).

The teen center will be held in honor of Paluri, who tragically passed after a skiing accident at Nashoba Valley in January 2015. Paluri would have been a junior a WA.

According to Principal James Antonelli, the event has turned into more of a teen center through the past two years both to make it both more festive and to get more students to attend. Last year, they decided to incorporate more activities into the night, such as karaoke, Mario Smash Bros., ping-pong, basketball, and more. There will also be Indian dance and henna. These activities will return for attendees this year.

“This year [will be] status-quo, same thing. Part of my hope is that we continue to keep [Rajiv’s] spirit alive,” Antonelli said.

Additionally, this year’s event will also consist of lots of food for those in attendance. Restaurants and other food vendors that will be providing for the event include the Ninety-Nine, Burton’s Grill, the Madras Grill, Eviva Cucina, and Westford House of Pizza.

For admission, attendees are asked to donate five dollars. The money will then go to the Rajiv Paluri Foundation.

“What Mr. Paluri and Mrs. Paluri want to do it just give back. In what way, they don’t know, […] maybe it’s a family that has a situation where their house burned down and they can provide some support,” Antonelli said.

Although Antonelli didn’t get to meet Rajiv, as he was not yet in high school, Antonelli says he has sensed that he was a special person who enjoyed giving back.

In the end, Antonelli encourages students to come on Saturday to both help raise money for a good cause, and to also have some fun.

“It’s just a fun night […]. It’s just an opportunity to come up, hang out with your friends, shoot some hoops, play some ping-pong and eat some food,” he said.