As seniors in high school- no one would expect the last couple months of the school year to be filled with lies, deceitful plans, and betrayal. And yet, nothing brings the senior class closer together than all of these elements. How? North Penn Senior Assassin.
With senioritis and student burnouts being inevitable, the tradition of Senior Assassin has been a remedy for years. Because being careless, lazy, and forgetful- gets you eliminated. And who would want to be posted on the Instagram page unless it’s to celebrate a kill of your own?
“I think it’s a really good tradition because I’ve seen people who I never thought would interact come together and help one another for the game. It forces you to step outside your zone of people and make connections that you would never expect,” said the owner of North Penn’s 2026 Senior Assassin account.
And when asked how it came down to them, they responded with, “Senior assassin gets passed down every year from a senior to a junior. At the end of the game you give the log-in info and the instagram account to a rising senior that you think would be most fit for the job.”
Most students play to win: some lose motivation, some give up…others though- they’re out creating seamless plans to work their way up to the pot.
“My thought process is why play if you don’t want to win?” said Jeff Pushart, who recently had one of the most elaborate plans to eliminate his target, using allies, deceit, and the perks of this generation’s technology.
Pushart thoroughly explained his successful plan to get Rudra Dhanani out.
“I made a fake screenshot from the [assassin] Instagram DMs, saying I had Aiden [a mutual friend] along with a fake video, where I overlayed the picture onto the real instagram account to really make it seem like I had Aiden. So I texted Rudra and told him Aiden has him [Rudra], and Aiden went around saying he did to make it more believable. With Aiden “having” Rudra, and me “having” Aiden, it would benefit Rudra if we “got Aiden out”. Rudra picked me up after school around 3:00, I got in his car, and 10 seconds later I recorded the video and got him out. He was a good sport and I felt bad for getting him out- but that’s the game. I have to give a lot of credit to Aiden. He played along perfectly and made the whole plan come to life. He deserves his props for it too.”
And when asked if he’s eager for the next rounds, Pushart said, “I wouldn’t say I get excited for new rounds, but I get more alert. Again it’s a game at the end of the day- but you could apply it to your daily life. Why would you do something if your not going to give 100%”
This alone shows the creative lengths people are willing to go. And how quickly a seemingly “good” favor- can end up getting you eliminated. Rudra Dhanani can, regretfully, recall his side of the story.
“I was way more aware—changing routines, watching who was around me, and just always staying alert. So honestly, I was surprised because he played it really well with the fake accounts and edits. At first it was a little frustrating, but I respected the move, so I was cool with helping him after. Overall, It was fun but also kinda stressful always being on guard.”
Since deceit and lies is a part of the game, no one cares when they have to use it against a random player. Someone they’ve barely talked to before. But when that DM notification rings, and your target is now one of your best friends, things get complicated. It can be conflicting at first, but at the end of the day, everyone knows it’s either you or them. Dom Tranzili had experienced this first round as the DM read, “Your target: Maizy Miller.”
Tranzilli talked about his initial reaction to his first target.
“I would say I was definitely happy when I saw the name because I knew it would probably make the round easier for me. Since I already knew her, I felt like I had a better chance of getting her out compared to someone I didn’t know as well. But after thinking about it more, I started to feel kind of bad about it. There was definitely some conflict in my head because I didn’t really want to be the one to get her out, since we’re good friends. I even thought about waiting until later in the round to go after her so she could stay in the game longer. But I saw my opportunity and took it. It felt good knowing I was still in. But at the same time, I did feel bad about how it happened. I even told Maizy right after I got her out that I felt bad about it, but it’s just part of the game.”
At the end of the day, Tranzilli had to choose himself to stay in the game. And when asked if he is scared of the same fate that eliminated Miller, he responded candidly.
“Yeah, I’m definitely a little scared about it now. Not knowing makes you start to overthink everything, especially when it could be someone you’re close with. Even now in the second round, I still don’t know who has me, and it kind of worries me that it could be one of my friends just waiting for the perfect moment to get me out.”
Maizy Miller, who was eliminated in the parking lot of a gym, talked about her reaction as shocked but relieved at the same time.
“At first, I thought it was a joke and that he was trying to scare me- because that’s something he would do. And I thought I would’ve heard something from my friend group about someone in it having me. But it did end up being less scary, after the shock wore off, because I would have been more scared knowing a random person knew my exact routine and where I’d be at what time that day.”
But when being friends or plotting isn’t enough anymore, some students resort to investing money. When a person knows they won’t be able to get their target out, or they don’t feel like playing anymore, a prideful way to back out is getting paid. Especially since the buy into the game is $10..
Dylan Waggenhoffer, a participant committed to the game, had to pay his target Jack Staugaitis near the end of the first round. After numerous attempts Waggenhoffer was not able to catch his target. And with Staugaitis having issues of his own regarding catching his, the two came to an agreement.
Staugaitis reflected on his side of the deal and how it benefited him.
“As it was approaching the final day I had come to a realization that I was never going to get my target Vansh Patel out. So I figured taking some money would be worth it instead of getting out due to not getting my target. And I could finally walk outside of my house without having to worry about being attacked.”
And when hypothetically asked if he would ever pay his target, he said, “I don’t think I would offer them money because then I’d have to play to ultimately win. If I didn’t win then I’d be throwing away money- and at the end of the day I wanted to play for fun, which I did.”
Conversely, Waggenhoffer talked about his thought process and frankly if paying him was worth it.
“It did take a good amount of stress and time away from me. Because this was not my only attempt at trying to get him out. The first couple times I came to his house before school, I was interrupted by Jack’s mom saving him just in time by telling me to leave. But now, to be honest, paying Jack was a total mistake. I am currently in the second round and have no plans on eliminating my target. I have already tried sitting outside his workplace, as well as sitting outside his and his girlfriend’s house. And it definitely put the game at higher stakes for me. I have not only paid money to get in the game, but now have paid to move to the next round.”
All things considered, as the end of Round 2 approaches soon: the stakes are only getting higher, the pool smaller, and the pot closer.
Teenagers who are often labeled as irresponsible or lazy have continued to prove years worth of successful tradition here at North Penn, dealing with around 200 participants, rules, sportsmanship, and creativity- all totally run and driven by students. Throughout the country, and here in the community, growing up hearing about the fun of “Senior Assassin” makes it such a surreal benchmark of our concluding time here at North Penn. And although we might be burnt out with school work, conducting a successful and elaborate plan might just be better than getting an “A”. Now as the rounds progress we can only wait and wonder who will be the victor of the 2026 North Penn Senior Assassin.
