Catie Dusenberry doesn’t just anticipate Christmas on Campus — she helps orchestrate it. The senior finance and marketing major knows it is so much more than a holiday event at UD. So much more work, for one thing. And she loves it.
“Most people think it’s just a Christmas thing, and all the work revolves around that one day,” said Catie. “But we actually have our first meeting the second week we’re back at school.”
She first learned about the scheduling from her older sister Fiona ’24, who was the co-coordinator of Christmas on Campus in 2023. The students begin with committee and subcommittee meetings, sending out emails, developing a growing list of volunteers — all working together to create something extraordinary.
And she first learned about Christmas on Campus from her parents, who are both UD alumni, Ann Marie ’94 and Jay ’93 Dusenberry. Although she grew up in Michigan, Catie said that her and her sisters’ godparents are all UD alumni (Catie’s younger sister, Jena, is now a first-year Flyer, too). “Some of our parents’ closest friends today were their roommates or neighbors at UD,” she said. “And they’ve all stayed in touch!”
At first, this tight connection to UD was a hurdle; Catie wasn’t sure if she wanted to go to the school she’d already heard so much about. But after she visited, she knew it was the right decision. Part of that was the spirit of service that she experienced.
Service was something her parents emphasized as she was growing up — leading by example. As a child, Catie learned the importance of volunteering for Christmas events when her father participated in Lions Club programs. And since Fiona became active in Christmas on Campus, the whole family started coming down to Dayton to volunteer at UD during the event.
The day of Christmas on Campus itself is a whirlwind of energy and purpose. Over 1,000 Dayton Public Schools students arrive, each paired with a UD buddy — more than 1,000 students who happily volunteer. That’s in addition to all of the committee members and all of the students who volunteer to organize holiday games and crafts, hand out treats and hot cocoa, decorate, help organize incoming school buses and the lines of children and so much more. It’s a full community of activity that is widely regarded as one of the largest, student-run, single-day volunteer events in the nation.
“It is amazing how much of the student population gets involved,” Catie said. The transformation is remarkable, and she finds meaning in every detail, seeing the event as a living example of UD’s Marianist mission.
Catie is mindful of the spiritual dimension that shapes Christmas on Campus. Her mother often spoke about how being a buddy was her favorite part, and now Catie sees the same impact in herself and other students. “It feels like you’re accomplishing something bigger than you. It just affects so many other people besides yourself or the committee,” she said.
Faith is woven through the event, and Catie loves the tradition of attending Mass after Christmas on Campus, the nativity scene that accompanies the tree lighting, and the way the celebration brings together students, families and the wider Dayton community in faith. “That’s special to me,” she said, recognizing how the day deepens the sense of purpose and connection.
Christmas on Campus is an opportunity to honor her family’s legacy, to lead with joy and intention, and to live the Marianist values that define UD.
“Service makes us stronger as a community,” she said, and Christmas on Campus is service, celebration and faith with a community you’ve grown with.
“You come out a better person. And when you leave, you’ll always have this place and these people as you move through life. UD helps you get to where you want to be.”