Saint Leo’s Christmas tree lighting

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By Jay An, Contributing Writer

As the sun set on the horizon, the Christmas tree lighting ceremony was set up near the clock tower outside of the Student Activities Building.

The stage was set and ready to go, everybody in the crowd was waiting for a magical night to start. (Photo was taken by Jay An)

The ceremony began with an introduction speech by the Vice President of Student Affairs, Jen Shaw, accompanied by Santa and Mrs. Claus. The promise of games, activities, and performances by Lucas Nocera, the Assistant Director of the University Ministry, as well as the music department had the crowd brewing up Christmas spirit.

The singers for the event put on a wonderful show for the Saint Leo community. (Photo was taken by Jay An)

Mr. And Mrs. Claus were gracious helpers while Jen Shaw started her speech. (Photo was taken by Jay An)

After the speech, the Saint Leo University music department graced the crowd with three Christmas songs as the trees shined their light down on all who attended.

The Christmas spirit was in full swing, from the cookies and hot chocolate station provided by the Saint Leo dining team or making beautiful ornaments.

“I thought it was going to turn out well, I was really excited. It is good to sing here,” said Rosa Mills, a student majoring in communications and singing for the event.

Another student, Kristian Hargrove, majoring in theater, found out about the event through Instagram.

“I found out about this event through the Student Government Union Instagram,” said Hargrove. “Everything was quite a surprise.”

Students commented on the point of the tree lighting event.

“The point of this event is to spread that kind of Christmas season to everybody in our whole community,” said Daniel Konesky, president of the Student Government Union.

Konesky shared how grateful he was for everyone who showed up.

“I think it’s doing wonderful … everyone is kind of mingling, it seems like they’re enjoying themselves,” Konesky said. “I like to talk to people and mingle, and this really opens up the opportunity to whether it be the faculty or community members, or just students, everybody’s kind of in unison right now.”

The crowd gathered as one as the Christmas trees started to light up. (Photo was taken by Jay An)

The games and activities truly helped everyone get into the Christmas spirit. (Photo was taken by Jay An)

And lastly, from the catering team for the night’s events, Cynthia Labelle shared how she came to help with the event.

“They sent me an email to cater at Saint Leo, and from there it went very well tonight, everybody was happy,” said Labelle.

In conclusion, the Christmas tree lighting was a wonderful success. With the music, the community, and the food, everyone was truly in spirit for the holidays. It was truly a magical event to bring together everyone in the Saint Leo community.

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