Faculty and staff from across the university showed their appreciation to over 1,500 undergraduate students by volunteering as servers, table cleaners, and hosts at holiday activity stations in Carl Hansen Student Center on the Mount Carmel Campus. Holiday music and seasonal decorations in the dining hall added to the festive spirit.

The very first Undergraduate Holiday Dinner was founded 40 years ago by Jill Martin, professor of legal studies. Martin, who continues to head up the dinner’s organizational committee, said this Bobcat holiday tradition has been a success from day one due to widespread support of the university family.

“From the very first year, we’ve had this great outpouring of faculty and staff who really wanted to do this. Everybody pitches in, and that’s what so wonderful about this night,” said Martin. “It’s truly a community event that brings everyone together: our administrators, faculty, staff, facilities people, our dining hall partners, and students. Everybody in the university participates, and they all have a good time.”

Amidst the holiday excitement, President Judy Olian recognized Martin with a special gift for creating a beloved Bobcat tradition.

“It’s just such a great tradition for the institution and it’s so fun to see the students’ faces when they’re served by the faculty and the staff,” Olian said. “It’s reversing the tables, and it’s one of those ways in which we make our students feel that this is a home away from home.”

Olian joined volunteers serving up a traditional holiday meal of turkey, roast beef, mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables and other delicious dishes cooked up in-house by Quinnipiac’s dining services provider, Chartwells.

As he volunteered on the serving line, Senior Director of Marketing Operations Steven Justo said it was a pleasure to help serve students and to be a part of such a special holiday experience for the Quinnipiac community.

“It’s a great experience for the university. The students really love the opportunity to enjoy this wonderful food, and it’s so good to see the faculty and staff helping the students to enjoy the holiday season,” Justo said.

Provost Debra Liebowitz said the dinner creates a unique opportunity to celebrate with students and provide support and encouragement during final exams.

“It’s our way of expressing how much we care about them and about their health and wellness. It’s fortification before the final push of the semester, combined with a wonderful tradition,” said Liebowitz.

Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Karissa Peckham said the event creates an uplifting close to the semester.

“At a time when students are about to have finals and they’re getting ready to go home, this is just a great way for us to celebrate together, have fun and relax,” said Peckham.

Amelia Holtz ’28, who is double majoring in data science and economics, said she appreciated the extra helping of holiday spirit shown to students as the semester comes to a close.

“Especially in a time that’s super-stressful with finals, I think the school does a really great job of helping us to lift our spirits with events like this dinner and the Quad lighting,” Holtz said.

Psychology major Jillian Alena ’28 said she and her friends were excited to take a break from their studies and come out to enjoy the dinner together.

“I think it was really nice to have this to look forward to all week, especially during finals,” said Alena. “Based on people I know who go to other universities, I feel like there aren’t a lot of schools that do something like this for their students. There’s a great overall vibe with the food and everyone coming together. The decorations and the music make me feel excited for Christmas.”

Appreciation for the diverse backgrounds of the Quinnipiac community is shown in the way the Undergraduate Holiday Dinner celebrates many different holidays of the season, said Chief Experience Officer Tom Ellett.

“We feel that this is a nice closing event to represent the various traditions of our students’ backgrounds that they bring here,” said Ellett. “It’s really about sharing a meal together, remembering the memories they created over this last semester, and their hopes for next semester, and life after Quinnipiac.”

For Spanish international student Jose Ocon ’28, who is studying international marketing at Quinnipiac, attending his first Undergraduate Holiday Dinner was a special experience.

“I think the school did a great job of getting everybody together and creating a family atmosphere. That’s very important, especially for international students who are away from home and maybe can not celebrate with their families,” said Ocon.

Activity stations at the dinner included a holiday photo booth with props, which drew the attention of political science major and Sawhney Leadership Program member Niderah Jaggan ’25. She rallied her friends into the booth for a fun Quinnipiac memento.

“We are all Sawhney leaders, and we came here to show support because we love coming to Quinnipiac events, especially the holiday dinner,” Jaggan said. “We always look forward to going and having time to spend with your loved ones at Quinnipiac. It’s a very warm event. I just love it.”

Human resource management major and Sawhney leader Todd Bivens ’25 said he was glad to be making memories with his friends at their final Undergraduate Holiday Dinner together.

“This is the last couple of moments that we have together, so we’re going to do as much as we can while we still can,” said Bivens.

Chartwells Unit Marketing Manager Lexi Pepe ’24 helped to spread the dinner’s holiday cheer with plenty of fun event photos posted to social media.

“It’s just such a great event and it’s a great way of giving back to the community and the students. We want to show them that we appreciate them and wish them well as they head off on their holiday break,” said Pepe.

After dinner, students headed to Gingerbread Wonderland upstairs, featuring make-your-own ice cream sundaes, generous slices of pumpkin, apple, and pecan pie, and gingerbread cookies waiting to be decorated.

Women’s lacrosse coach Steve Dudeck lent a hand at one of the cookie-decorating stations.

“We’re showing the students a little bit of holiday cheer and giving them some ‘lessons’ in gingerbread decorating,” said Dudeck. “It’s nice to see them out here enjoying themselves and it’s a good way for them to see how the community is supporting everybody. I think the students like to see that we care about them, and we want them to have a good time here at Quinnipiac.”

Ryan Goodman ’27, who is studying biomedical marketing, said the chance to decorate cookies reminded him of home and that the secret to good gingerbread decor lies in piling on the frosting.

Biomedical sciences major Yasmine Amezzane ’27 said she appreciated the chance to come out, enjoy the dinner and dessert, and do some cookie decorating.

“I have an anatomy test tomorrow so this is a nice break in my studying, and I’ll have a snack to go back with me after dessert,” said Amezzane.

To help celebrate the 40th year of the Undergraduate Holiday Dinner, Martin set up a volunteer T-shirt quilt for students to view, sharing different themes for dinners held throughout the years.

Martin said she is thrilled that the university community has continuously embraced and supported a novel idea she pitched 40 years ago that’s become a beloved Quinnipiac tradition.

“It’s all about community,” Martin said. “There is no one person who makes this happen. It takes a village.”

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