School of Business Administration

Christmas on Campus is an annual celebration dating back to 1964 at the University of Dayton. Celebrated each year on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, it is a hallmark event symbolizing the University of Dayton's Catholic, Marianist tradition.  Christmas on Campus incorporates students, faculty, and the Dayton community into this one-night celebration. As the campus is transformed into a Winter Wonderland, children from Dayton City Schools are paired with UD students in a unique opportunity to celebrate the true spirit of Christmas.

Christmas on Campus is led by Co-Coordinators as well as eight different subcommittees. Each member of the various committee plays a key role in the implementation of this magical spectacle through countless hours of hard work and dedication.

Riley Cronin, an International Business Management Senior, first heard about Christmas on Campus during a campus tour. She loved the idea of attending a school where Christmas is celebrated and knew that she wanted to be involved when she attended UD. During her freshman year, she was paired with a “buddy”, one of the visiting elementary school students, and she was hooked.

Cronin has served on the School Outreach Committee since her sophomore year. the School Outreach Committee is in charge of all communication with the 21 elementary schools that attend the event. Cronin helped register all buddies, pair them with UD students, as well as helped run the Mandatory Buddy Training Meetings and work the New Buddy Match Up Room the night of the event.

Being involved with the organization of Christmas on Campus helped Cronin understand how to navigate adversity and lead through ambiguity. Due to Covid, her three years on the committee all looked drastically different and the role of the school outreach committee was always changing. Despite challenges, they found a way to bring Christmas on Campus to our Dayton schools every year. Christmas on Campus 2022 was especially special to those organizing it as the majority of the committee had never attended a normal Christmas on Campus but we were still so motivated to keep the tradition alive.

Julia Mills, a Marketing and Management Information Systems senior, was also inspired to join the Christmas on Campus committee after participating in the event her freshman year. To Mills, she saw how Christmas on Campus genuinely displays the community aspect of UD, and she wanted to give back to all of the children in the greater Dayton Community, sharing the holiday season with them.

Mills has been involved with the committee for the last three years and was one of this year's Co-Coordinators for the 59^th annual Christmas on Campus. She credits her experience working with Christmas on Campus with honing various skills such as communication, organization, critical thinking, conflict management, motivation, adaptability, and decision-making. Valuable skills she will be using these once she graduates from UD this spring.

“My favorite moment was seeing all of the UD students interact with their buddies throughout the event," Mills said. "These UD students do not realize the impact they have on their buddies' lives. The laughter and joy that filled campus on December 8th is a memory I will never forget.”