Bridgewater-Raritan High School students were transformed into pizza chefs.
The high school’s Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society held its first-ever Pizza Palooza, one of the club’s most fun and chaotic events yet, on Tuesday, November 18.
Organized and led by club president Ryan Li, about 20 students came together to make their own pizzas in groups. By the end, we had roughly 10 pizzas that somehow ranged from perfect circles to heart shapes, and everything in between.
The students made Neapolitan-style pizzas using homemade tomato sauce provided by Giusepina Bologno, one of the club’s advisors and an Italian Teacher at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, along with fresh and shredded mozzarella, parmesan, prosciutto di Parma, arugula, and a splash of olive oil.
Ryan said he wanted the event to feel “more than just making pizza, but a connection to the Italian culinary tradition right here at Bridgewater-Raritan High School,” bringing in ingredients and toppings inspired by authentic Italian culture.
The reactions from students made the event even better.
“Goated,” said senior Suyash Gupta. “I even saw Ayaan moaning at my pizza.”
Senior Andre Nalliannan said, “A fun event where we got to work together and experiment with making pizza. It tasted delicious!”
Ayaan Hossain took a more philosophical approach, noting that pizza has become more than an Italian dish; it’s a symbol of community and cultural significance across cities like Chicago and New York: “The Mu Alpha Theta event truly represented the cultural significance of this once-Italian dish…”
Senior Matthew Yu, always obsessed with the knowledge of mathematics, calculated that the event involved roughly “33 percent skill and 67 percent stress and chaos,” and somehow it all worked out.
Overall, the Pizza Palooza was a huge success and a great way for members to hang out, laugh, and make something together. Ryan reflected that “it was a great experience,” and he hopes the club will host similar cooking activities in the future.
Mu Alpha Theta thanks its advisors, Giuseppina Di Martino and Giuseppina Bologno, as well as Culinary Arts Teacher Teresa Liuzzi, for their assistance in making the event possible. Students interested in joining future activities can join the Mu Alpha Theta Google Classroom using the code 5w6diwk.