Relay for Life, the world’s largest fundraising event in battling cancer, is less than two weeks away from visiting Hamline University’s campus, taking place in Walker Fieldhouse on April 23 from 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. the following morning. Despite the wait, some students are already expressing enthusiasm for the coming event.

First-year student and soccer player Matt Simeon will be attending Relay for the first time this year.

“I’ve never had an opportunity to do it before,” Simeon said. “I’ve never known anyone personally who had cancer. My grandma died from it before I was born, but I’m doing Relay more for the holistic cause.”

Simeon credited Hamline’s Residential Housing Association and the Men’s Soccer Team, both of which he is a member of, with pushing him to join the event.

“Normally there are things like games to raise money,” Simeon said of Relay’s efforts to increase donations. “RHA will have stuff going on on the floor to raise money, but there’s also the people supporting by walking the laps. You want to get people to support you for every mile you walk. I’ve been trying to get people to support, saying, ‘Hey, for every dollar we’ll walk another mile.’ The biggest thing at the end of the day is donations.”

And the donations have been plentiful, with $7,228 thus far having been contributed between the 97 listed participants.

For some of these participants, like sophomore Elizabeth Gregorio of the Women’s Swim Team, being part of the event is a very personal endeavor.

“Both my grandpas died from cancer,” said Gregorio. “So it’s personal in the way that it’s personal for everyone because everyone knows of someone who has died from cancer.”

This is Gregorio’s third year in which she will participate in Relay for Life. As this season’s representative for her team on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Gregorio has been instrumental in getting other students involved in the charity.

“SAAC tries to make sure athletes are involved with stuff on campus, so it makes an effort to have all teams participate in Relay,” Gregorio said. “I tell my captains about the event, and then they tell the rest of the team.”

Beyond the attending athletes are also the participants who will help facilitate the event. Sophomore Tom Eichlersmith will be Relaying and DJ-ing on behalf of HU Radio.

“I’ll be hanging around and playing music when they want me to play music,” Eichlersmith said. “I’ll probably also be helping out with the Omicron Delta Kappa booth, but I may be walking a bit too.”

Eichlersmith was informed of the chance to participate in the charity from both HU Radio and Omicron Delta Kappa, a national honor society dedicated to leadership and service.

“Frugally, I’m doing Relay for the volunteer hours for ODK,” Eichlersmith joked but stressed the importance of doing good works. “When you’re walking around and spending money on a carnival game, you’re potentially helping somebody with cancer. I like that because I’m having fun and I also feel good that I’m having fun.”

Eichlersmith stated that he intended to keep HU Radio involved in Relay for Life in the coming years.

What is clear from each of the students’ testimonies is a thriving commitment within the Hamline community to service. Their donations serve not only as evidence of their generosity, but also as an example of Hamline University’s ethical values in action. These values, in addition to the donors’ soles, will hit the track on April 23.