University Honors Program

By Tara McLoughlin

For the past 59 years, the University of Dayton has hosted an incredible evening known as Christmas on Campus. It not only celebrates the feast of the Immaculate Conception, but it also is an opportunity for children in the Dayton area to come to campus and partake in many Christmas activities! In fact, two honors students stepped up and helped coordinate the annual event! 

Sophomore Paige Russo held a position on the school outreach subcommittee that works to coordinate with the schools in the Dayton area to help bring the children to campus. From collecting permission slips to documenting allergies, the outreach committee worked tirelessly to bring these 1st and 2nd grade students from schools all around Dayton to campus and be paired with a UD student as their buddy. Paige applied to be involved with Christmas on Campus in the Spring of 2022, and then received her position. 

Another leaders was Claire Ogburn, a sophomore honors student who is on the hospitality committee for Christmas on Campus (COC for short). She participated in COC her freshman year, but with the COVID pandemic, the event was limited in volunteering and did not even have buddies on campus. However, this year, with the event back in full swing, Claire was excited at the chance to play a larger and more crucial role for the awesome night. Her roles in the hospitality committee involved making the shirts that were sold for fundraising, the goodie bags that were given to the buddies on campus, and she worked closely with alumni of Christmas on Campus and the Dayton community in general to make sure it was the best night it could be! 

When Claire was asked why she decided to be involved with COC, she proved that this 59-year tradition is something that brings change and memories to campus: “my dad went to UD and had told me about COC and how much he had enjoyed it, so I knew I had to be involved. Freshman year we were still in the middle of Covid, so it was not the same and we did not get to have buddies like normal. Even though this was the case, I was still able to experience COC with my friends.”

Paige and Claire both said their favorite thing about being on the committee of Christmas on Campus was just how kind every person was.

Claire: “What I love most about COC is being able to be part of an organization that really uplifts people and makes sure that everyone is able to experience Christmas joy and spirit. I also love that I get to be a part of a committee that is so close-knit! It's like one big family, and I truly appreciate that I get to be a part of something like that.” 

Paige: “What I love most about being a part of Christmas on Campus is getting to work so closely with my amazing committee. The other members of the committee are so passionate about the work they are doing for the organization that it pushes me to work that much harder to make our event the best we can.” 

As fun as this night is on campus, the committee has their own fun while planning it! Claire recounted that one of her favorite memories with the committee, “was our COC Olympics where we all got placed on different teams and got to play games and get to know each other more. I has so much fun on that day and I really felt welcomed into the committee, as it was my first year on the committee. I think this story also really emphasizes how welcoming everyone was and how open the entire committee was to making new connections with someone they had never met before.”  

We are very proud to have such incredible honors students taking such crucial roles in planning an evening as memorable as Christmas on Campus. If you are interested of being a part of this incredible organization and working on a committee keep an eye out for the Spring applications for Christmas on Campus! 

Feel free to follow Christmas on Campus on Instagram and stay up to date with the fun @christmasoncampusud