On April 12, Quinnipiac students, faculty, staff and alumni fanned out from the Mount Carmel Campus in Hamden to tackle projects and services supporting organizations in the community and in many surrounding towns.

“The Big Event is a huge part of the Quinnipiac community,” said Rebecca Brunetti ’25, a biomedical science major and director of Quinnipiac’s Big Event. “It is the largest day of community service. Our motto is, ‘One Big Day, One Big Thanks.’ It is awesome and rewarding to see students, graduate students, faculty, staff and alumni come together to volunteer in the Greater Hamden/New Haven community. I have been with the Big Event for four years and am proud of all the work we do to plan and put on this event and proud to see the volunteers giving back to their community."

Alumni from across the nation participated in The Big Event in Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, New York, Texas and Virginia.

As a nationwide day of service established in 1982 at Texas A&M University, The Big Event sends colleges and universities out to volunteer in the surrounding community. This year, Quinnipiac Big Event teams spruced up community gardens and assisted with operational needs at locations in Bethany, Branford, Cheshire, Hamden, New Haven, Orange, Wallingford, West Haven and Woodbridge.

Quinnipiac President Judy Olian joined a big group of students assisting with processing donated goods at the Goodwill Store and Donation Center in Wallingford. Olian said university-wide participation in The Big Event aligns very well with the Quinnipiac pillar mission of nurturing internal and external communities.

“We’re a big part of the community here, and we have to use our brains and our brawn to give back to the community and be a force of good. The Big Event is a great example of that. At Quinnipiac, we’re also nurturing people that will be enlightened global citizens and leaders in their community. Our students here today are seeing the critical role Goodwill plays in the community and how people are benefiting from those who give back,” Olian said.

Goodwill Industries President and former West Haven, Connecticut Mayor Richard Borer said Quinnipiac’s commitment to community service in the Greater New Haven area, and beyond, shines through during The Big Event and throughout the year.

“Goodwill couldn’t operate without volunteers and people that help us to process, fundraise and work with clients. It’s the lifeline of our organization,” said Borer. “Quinnipiac has been a good partner of ours over the years. The university has always called us and volunteered and helped. Even when I was in the mayor’s office, we had a great working relationship with Quinnipiac University.”

Borer said Goodwill’s commitment extends to not only supporting community members, but also bettering the environment with its practices of reusing, repurposing and recycling.

“We see that this generation of students, in particular, really cares about thrifting, reusing, repurposing and they really care about the environment, so we’re a natural fit, and we love the enthusiasm that we’re seeing right now,” said Borer.

Student volunteer Luke Farrell ’26, MBA ’27, is pursuing a triple major in supply chain management, economics, and environmental policy and sustainability. Farrell said he was especially enjoying his Goodwill assignment, sorting and bagging tiny plastic Lego blocks for reuse.

“I’ve always had an interest in Legos, so it’s nice to be able to work them today, and see them going into bags to resell,” said Farrell.

Farrell, who also serves on Quinnipiac’s Student Programming Board (SPB), was part of a group of SPB members who signed on to help out at The Big Event, including political science major Jamie Setzler ’25; sociology major Sara Montes ’26, MSW ’27; and game design development major Kevin Tessicini ’26. They helped at Goodwill by sorting and separating donated clothes.

“We came out as a team, but I just love community service, so I was going to get involved in any way I could. It’s really awesome to go out and do something like this,” said Montes.

Now in his third year as a Big Event volunteer, Tessicini said he’s enjoyed being able to assist communities.

“You get to help different communities in different ways each year. One year, we helped clean up a forest area on the side of the road in Hamden. Last year, we helped clean up at an unoccupied home to help the neighborhood look nicer, and now we’re helping here at Goodwill. You can see what you’re doing is helping the community and it’s a lot of fun,” said Tessicini.

Setzler said she would encourage anyone who hasn’t had the chance to join The Big Event to get involved. She also encouraged other student clubs or organizations to sign up as a team.

“I think it’s a great bonding opportunity, because I get to spend time with people that I’m in the student org with, and we really get to know each other better,” Setzler said.

Setzler said getting great community involvement experience during her time at Quinnipiac has helped to prepare her for her next step, graduate school, and her future as a teacher.

“Especially since I’m going into higher post-secondary education, getting involved as an undergraduate has absolutely changed my life,” said Setzler.

Health science major Samantha Sherman ’25, has volunteered with The Big Event for three years and said she was enjoying her assignment assisting Goodwill.

“I like being able to work with different teams, and you really get to work with the staff and feel like you’re helping. Last year, I went to a rehabilitation center in Hamden, and I helped them pick up trash in their backyard. My job today is sorting shoes,” she said.

Finance major Bennie Baldwin ’25 has also volunteered for three years with The Big Event.

“I’ve raked leaves and picked up trash at a camp, and last year I helped with the set up crew at Quinnipiac to make sure everybody knew where they were going for the day,” Baldwin said. “It’s cool to go to the surrounding areas and volunteer in the community. You realize there are lot of different things you can do to help. You could be volunteering at Goodwill, you could be going to a park to help clean up. It’s actually a fun way to spend your Saturday.” 

About 10 minutes away, members of Quinnipiac’s coed climbing club team, Club Climbing, bundled up on a cold and wet morning to help with the annual spring cleaning of Wallingford Senior Center’s Agnes Campos Memorial Butterfly Garden.

Roman Mrozinski, son of Campos, created and installed the garden in the early 2000’s together with master gardener Eleanor Tessmer. Mrozinski said he’s grateful for all of the Quinnipiac Big Event teams which have helped out with the garden’s essential spring cleaning for many years.

“This is outstanding. Year after year, Quinnipiac has sent some marvelous kids that work very hard and get stuff done. It’s truly appreciated,” said Mrozinski.

Club Climbing officer and nursing student Avery Juhola, BSN ’27, said the team could see the difference their volunteer work made by the big pile of brush and cuttings that built up during their time in the garden.

“We picked up a lot of sticks and raked and did whatever they needed to help clean the garden. I think it’s a great way to give back, especially as a team. It’s a great way to get more people involved,” said Juhola.

Computer science major Ryan Sliger ’26 said the club felt especially honored to be working alongside a Campos family member at the memorial garden.

“Her son built the garden for her after she passed, so it was just really nice to help him clean it up and make it much more beautiful for the whole community to enjoy,” said Sliger. “It feels really nice to give back to the community. I think it looks good on the school and it looks good on the club.”

Psychology major Min Suh Ospalek 25’, MSW ’27, said The Big Event gives busy Bobcats a perfect opportunity to make a plan to get involved and make a difference in the community.

“I feel like school can get quite busy for everyone and you don’t really get many opportunities that are presented to you to volunteer, so it’s really nice that Quinnipiac has a designated day and an event where you can actually get together and give back,” said Ospalek.

Olian said The Big Event serves two important purposes: assisting area communities and providing Quinnipiac community members with meaningful and enriching community service experiences.

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