St. Lawrence University’s annual Laurentian for Life weekend was an outstanding success, with each event going off without a hitch. To celebrate the weekend, the Office of Laurentian Engagement invited faculty, staff, and students to take part in the on-campus events. The weekend is centered around honoring the five pillars of being a Laurentian for Life: Learn, Serve, Give, Connect, Celebrate.
The busy weekend kicked off on Friday afternoon, March 31, with the annual L4L Run/Walk & Vintage Sale on the Brush Quad. This year the forecast was not ideal; however, that didn’t stop runners and walkers from taking part in the yearly event. The first 100 registrants were gifted with a free Laurentian for Life t-shirt.
Saturday, April 1 consisted of a Saints Trivia Night in Pub 56. The event included free snacks including the famous mac & cheese bites, drink specials and prizes. Sunday consisted of multiple L4L events, including the two-hour long Community Service Carnival at Appleton Arena for “Serve Day.” The event was designed in order to give back to the community and hang out with kids from the Canton area, as well as support local organizations. There were many different stations set up by SLU students and community members, some of which included face painting and peanut butter sandwich making.
Following the Service Carnival was a SLU Connect Social in the Sullivan Student Center, which was organized in order for students to connect with St. Lawrence students that have participated in the SLU Connect programs and wanted to share their positive experiences with others.
Sunday ended with a Singing Saints and Singing Sinners a cappella concert at the Gunnison Memorial Chapel. The concert included live a cappella music from the two on-campus groups and free t-shirts, stickers, and key chains for those who attended.
Monday, the 161 Charter Day, began with a Coffee Boost in the Student Center sponsored by the Alumni Executive Council.
While free coffee was being dispensed to students, the 1856- Minute Challenge began at exactly 10:04 a.m. Charter day marks 161 years of providing transformative experiences for St. Lawrence students. This year we celebrated SLU’s history and future with this challenge, which asked all Laurentians to support the university with a gift to the St. Lawrence Fund. The goal was to have 1,856 donors in 1856 minutes by 5 p.m. on April 4th. An anonymous donor pledged to give the annual fund of 400,000 if this goal was matched, which was accomplished.
“Whether it was at Saints Trivia Night, the Sinners and Saints Concert, the free coffee sponsored by the Alumni Council, the 4k Run/Walk in brutal weather, or the Charter Day theme dinner at Dana, we found students having fun, asking questions and feeling pride in being a Laurentian,” said Joe Keniston ’05, who serves as Director of Laurentian Engagements. “Having spoken to many donors and alumni during the 1856 Minute Challenge, all the talk was about how impressive it was that current students were atop the leaderboard,” he added.
The successful weekend also included a Charter Day theme dinner at Dana Dining Hall, which featured Laurentian favorites.
Additionally, there was a social media contest that consisted of ten different categories. “The stories and memories shared on social media reminds us that every Laurentian has their own, unique St. Lawrence story to tell. It’s been an incredible week seeing how deeply our alumni and students care about the Scarlet and Brown,” added Keniston.
The names of students who submitted a photo in five or more conest categories were entered to win the grand prize of dinner at MacAllaster House with President Fox and his wife Lynn for the winner and up to nine friends.