Felician Festivities Begin with a Spectacular Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony!

Holiday cheer was front and center at the Christmas Tree Lighting on December 8.

The event took shape when Matt Anderson, who teaches Felician’s choir class, reached out to Ingrid Dul, Interim Director for Mission Integration, about performing a Christmas concert for the University. The choir was unable to present its annual performance for the Felician Sisters due to COVID, so Ms. Dul partnered with Uma Mahalingam, Director of the Center for Student Development and Engagement (CSDE), to create Felician Festivities.

As a result, holiday songs filled the air in front of the Wellness and Recreation Center (WaRC) on the Rutherford campus. Following the choir’s performance, music was provided by Felician Alumnus Dashaun Calhoun, who performed as “DJ Joker,” as participants enjoyed snacks from the Good Food = Good Mood food truck.

Students gathered around four firepits roasting marshmallows, chatting and keeping warm. President James W. Crawford, III joined in on the holiday celebration along with Prof. Joe Lizza (who came to the celebration dressed as Santa Claus), Dr. Anthony Scardino, and other faculty and staff members, and of course, students.

Graduate student Christine Albano, found Felician Festivities very exciting, especially coming in the wake of a tough year and a half. “We need to just enjoy school and the holidays because COVID was a hard time for a lot of people. Felician, being the great school that it is, helped a lot of people get through it, by allowing people to work from home, and on zoom,” said Ms. Albano.

Junior Tia Bradley lives on campus and thought it was great that Felician made it possible for students to have an outdoor holiday celebration without having to travel. “This is something close, just walk out your door, and you could see a tree lighting, without having to be crowded with a lot of people. Here it was with people you know.”

MBA graduate student, Rishak Sharma, said, “I think this is fantastic. It is the way we should be doing it, getting together as a community and students.”

Sophomore Kristin Bombel found the tree lighting very lively. “I was glad everyone was able to get together after being isolated for quite a while. Everyone really needed this social interaction for the Christmas season because it was really limited last season.”

Professors Joe Lizza and Dr. Louis Ruvolo from the Lenke Family Center for Innovation (CFI) as well as some of their students participated in the tree lighting and other activities. And as a light rain fell, Freshman Katie Kaye, a member of the CFI’s Instagram team, Freshman Jazmin Mello, Kaitlyn Gage from the Center for Academic Success & Effectiveness (CASE), and Nick Grebe, a goalie for Felician Men’s Lacrosse Team, counted down to the tree lighting, which appropriately served as a symbol for light, knowledge, and innovation.