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On March 3, Saint Leo held their annual Saint Jude Field Day event. Formally known as “Up till Dawn,” this year’s event was a little different, but with the same goal in mind.
From 11 a.m. to noon, teams of students would come together with the money they raised through donations and fundraising all for a chance to participate in a fun day filled with competitive games. Each team worked together and competed against others to see who would be victorious at the end.
The Field Day featured students from all campus clubs and organizations; however, this year had a strong showing of Greek organizations. A total of three organizations came with their teams to show support and participate in the day’s activities.
Junior Ryan Bourdeau, a sports business major and member of Tau Kappa Epsilon, explained that the Field Day was a significant event for his organization.
“Our national philanthropy is Saint Jude, and we do what we can to always support, even on a local level,” said Bourdeau. “It is fun, and it brings the community together to support something bigger than us. It is a great experience that everyone should take part in.”
The games commenced right after the opening ceremony at noon. The first event consisted of six teams: Betta Babes, Weekend Warriors, Tau Girls, Apollo’s Knights, Fantastic Fire and Gamma Girls. The first event was a life-sized version of the children’s game “Hungry, Hungry Hippos.” For this game, one player would lie down on their stomach on a scooter as a teammate pushed them back and forth. While being pushed, the player laying down needed to take a basket and capture as many balls as they could. This was an elimination style game with The Apollo Knights and Tau Girls going head to head in the final round; the Knights emerged victoriously.
The second event was a simple corn-hole tournament that resulted in a win for the Weekend Warriors. After a short lunch break, the third event started: a water balloon toss which ended with an Apollo Knights’ victory.
The next event was an interesting one: a life-sized version of foosball. Here, each team member served as their own game piece. Teams battled it out until the final round where the Apollo Knights bested the Gamma Girls.
After the games were finished, the main event was presented: shaving the head of the person who raised the most money. This time, two students received the highly anticipated hair cut: senior Marcus Franceschi, a sports business major, and junior Greg Miller, a criminal justice major.
“I thought it would be a great promotional event for Saint Jude and I’m just happy Greg and I could do it together,” said Franceschi.
“Hey, I wanted a free haircut,” laughed Miller. “But, no, this was an incredible event, and I just wanted to do my part to help.”
Following Miller and Franceschi’s new do’s, the final game, the red wagon race, took place. This was significant because children in the hospital were transported from room to room, not in a wheelchair, but in a wagon. This event intended to help them feel as happy, healthy and comfortable as possible. The Gamma girls one this race, and the day was concluded.
Ryan also stated that there was a bigger difference in mind for his organization, “It’s not even about winning, but raising money and awareness for the organization. We need to help make it even bigger than it already is. It has the potential to be the biggest event not just on our campus, but all campuses nationwide.”
In addition to Tau Kappa Epsilon, Gamma Upsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon, and Alpha Sigma Tau also came out to volunteer and gave a part of their day to do good for others who need it.
“We made the team to show a sense of community and raise money and awareness for the children of Saint Jude,” said Maddy Shannon, a business marketing major and a member of Gamma Upsilon. “We wanted to express our values as an organization and Greek community.”
“We want everyone else to take the lead and bring this event to other campuses,” added Taylor Grishaber, a junior criminal justice major, also of Gamma Upsilon. “We want to start a chain reaction in the nation for this important issue. The more people that do it, the more exposure it will get.”
The final top three teams were the Gamma Girls in third, The Apollo Knights in second and Tau Girls in first; however, the true winners were the children. With over $7,500 raised, Saint Leo University again proves that although it is a small campus, it is also mighty and truly makes a difference.
The Saint Jude Field Day happens every year and students are encouraged to create their own team and take part in this incredible day. Don’t miss out on your chance to have some fun doing something great at 2019’s event.
