Academy Holds Annual Relay for Life Fundraiser
By CHLOÉ LIND, LOGAN LIU and JADE YOO
On Saturday, April 27, Exeter hosted its annual Relay for Life fundraiser event. The American Cancer Society’s “Relay for Life” is an event that unites communities of people directly or indirectly affected by cancer to raise funds for life-saving research. Exeter’s relay invited students to participate in a relay in solidarity and featured booths hosted by clubs, dorms, affinity spaces, and athletics teams.
The rink was filled with a diverse array of foods, highlighted by the cross country team’s crepes, UNICEF’s cotton candy, and Student Council’s cookout. Booths also ran games like Hoyt Hall’s high heel relay, Kirtland Society’s gladiator fight, Ewald Dormitory’s jail, Cilley Hall’s “C-ball,” and more. The highlight of the event was the Luminaria service, a presentation to honor those affected by cancer through a series of presentations and performances, followed by a walk in which the attendees held candles and silently lapped Rink A.
Upper Bella Bueno helped plan the Relay for Life by coordinating student groups and their booths. “The entire initiative of Relay for Life is to support the work of the American Cancer Society, whose mission is to fight against cancer, celebrate survivors, and save lives,” she explained. “They research cancer, support cancer patients, and ultimately fight for a world without cancer. Through all the support we got from this relay, every booth run, ticket, performance, donation, and volunteer helped support that goal.”
At the Luminaria service, lower Claire Chetwynd read aloud a piece detailing her personal experience with cancer, stating, “The support I received after sharing my experience felt so special. I got texts, hugs, and calls from plenty of students, including those I had never spoken to until today. I could feel the attention of the audience, I felt heard. I’m usually nervous about sharing my medical history, since it’s usually followed by a lot of questions, but Exeter has grown my confidence so much that I felt eager to share. If my speech helped just one person care about cancer more, then I would consider it a win.” Relay for Life allowed students to share their unique cancer experiences while healing and spreading awareness.
Chetwynd also remarked, “For me, the Relay represents all the research that went towards my own treatment for subungual melanoma. I wanted to go to the event and speak to share my experience with having a rare cancer at a young age and how that evolves over time, now growing up with permanent scarring.” The brave confessions and lived experiences that students shared aided the event in achieving its goal of spreading awareness.
Booth leaders spoke positively of the event. Upper Laura Saldarriaga led Hoyt Hall’s booth and remarked that it “helped spread awareness, and the performances particularly were great.” She added that “communication was wonderful, the people in charge were constantly emailing us and making sure we knew what we were doing.”
Upper Elizabeth Christiansen reflected on the event, saying “The event was super well coordinated and it made setting up and cleaning up [relatively] easy.”
Participating students greatly enjoyed the relay. Prep Connie Thomas shared that “the silent lap was sentimental, and allowed those attending to reflect on just how many lives cancer has touched. I thought it was very special.”
Prep Daniella Mendez commented on the event, “Relay For Life was extremely fun and had many booths but I think that people still remembered the true meaning of the event. It was so amazing to see people come together for a shared reason of spreading awareness and supporting.”
Prep Melia Thibault also was fond of the Relay, stating that she “decided to go to this event because it looked super fun and it supports a good cause.” Her favorite aspect of the relay was the meaningful Luminaria walk.
Both Mendez and Thibault enjoyed the Hoyt High Heels Racing booth greatly, with Mendez stating, “I would’ve thought people would be hesitant to run around the rink in high heels, but so many people just wanted to have fun with their friends and support the booth and cause! It was so nice seeing people laughing, running, and yes, at times tripping.”
Despite the tremendous success of the event, several people remarked that it could’ve been executed better. Mendez stated that she wanted “better sound since [she] couldn’t really hear much from the far right side of the rink.”
Thibault added that she wished the Luminaria ceremony was near the beginning or the end, as having it in the middle appeared “jarring” to her.
“Luminaria definitely deserves more advertisement,” said Chetwynd. “In my opinion, it’s the most meaningful part of the event; it’s where participants of the Relay get to learn more about where their donations are going and why, exactly, it’s important to care about cancer. It would be fantastic to open Luminaria to more performers, or to some form of audience participation. The reading of the names is so special, and watching the tea lights flicker on pulls it all together; it would be fantastic if we had some more emphasis on the ceremony portion of the Relay.”
Relay for Life fundraised for a worthy and important cause. The organizers and booth leaders allowed the event to operate successfully, and everyone who attended brought great energy. The attendees, organizers, and all of the Exeter community rallied to support the Relay for Life and American Cancer Society in its mission to improve the lives of people with cancer and ensure everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer.
