by Megan Wille ’05
“In planning time where we can gather in an entertaining and relaxing setting, Gustavus shows that it places a priority in the friendships we have made here over the years,” said senior Jenny Ingraham.
Gustavus kicked off Senior Week, a week designed to provide graduating seniors with an opportunity to celebrate their friendships and spend quality time together, after final exams ended Tuesday, May 24. Events included a Johnny Holm concert, trips to Valleyfair and a St. Paul Saints game, themed dinners, a spa day, a golf tournament, a boat cruise, the formal President’s dinner, and a candlelight service.
Many colleges have time between finals and commencement but few choose to organize campus social events each day and have such high attendance. Of the 581 graduates, more than 80 percent of them participated in the week’s events. The single event with the highest participation was the President’s Dinner, which drew more than 75 percent of the graduating seniors.
Senior Week at Gustavus officially began in the 1980s in an effort to have campus-organized events for seniors to attend. Many students were already planning day trips and dinners for the days between finals and commencement so the Office of Student Activities decided to coordinate events through its office. A committee formed and money from Student Senate was allocated to help with some of the costs.
A popular Senior Week tradition began in the early 1960s when Cec Eckhoff, former vice president of alumni relations, hosted a reception at his home for the graduating seniors to celebrate their graduation and to welcome them to the alumni community. The Office of Alumni Relations still hosts a dinner for seniors with the same intention.
Senior Katrina Kleinwachter said, “If we simply ended abruptly right after finals we would not be holding true to our identity as a community that looks at education and at life holistically. Senior Week is a time when we recognize that Gustavus isn’t just a place where our minds have developed, it’s a place where our hearts have developed.”