Exeter Gathers For Relay For Life

By: Catherine Wu, Ethan Ding, Joonyoung Heo

The Academy held its annual Relay for Life event this past Saturday, May 7, in support of the American Cancer Society. Various dorms and clubs ran booths around the indoor ice rink to raise money for the event, and speakers shared sentiments during Luminaria.

The student-led Relay for Life Committee planned the event with help from Day Student Coordinator Elizabeth Reyes, Exeter Student Service Organization (ESSO) Program Assistant Maureen Costello, and Director of Student Activities Joanne Lembo. Senior Riley Valashinas and lower Angel Guo acted as co-chairs, overseeing the planning process. Lower Harry McGovern and upper Zach Quitkin worked in outreach to communicate and organize booth sign-ups. In Luminaria, upper Nicole Craighead and lower Ellie Ana Sperantsas held auditions for potential performers. To complete the organizational team, uppers Rajiv Raval and Vibha Udayakumar managed event publicity.

Guo shared why she decided to take part in Relay for Life. “I participated in Exeter’s Relay for Life because of how cancer has affected my life,” Guo said. “My dad has had colon cancer since I was five. Having spent countless hours in the waiting room and by the treatment bed, I became intrigued by the disease that plagued my indomitable father.”

“However, the battle against cancer isn’t fought solely from within a hospital,” Guo continued. “The battle that cancer patients, spouses, and children like myself must fight is one supported by Relay for Life. By chairing this event, I hope to convey my dedication and show my dad and everyone else in the cancer community how much they are loved.”

McGovern helped with the event’s booth planning. “I decided to do Relay for Life because I had cancer myself,” he said. “As a cancer survivor, I wanted to give back to the community and help support families who are currently suffering from cancer.”

He continued, “the event is truly meaningful, and although I personally could not attend, I am proud of our work. Exeter created a great platform to spread awareness— with each dorm or club hosting their own booths to make money— attendees were able to support the American Cancer Society on a personal level, while also enjoying the night with friends.”

Reyes shared the specificity of this year’s event. “This event is a co-sponsored event between ESSO and Student Activities,” Reyes said. “We have been organizing it for as long as I’ve worked here except for our 2 years off due to COVID. I love Relay because of this partnership approach and it is an event that brings the whole school together.”

“It is also important to me because my mother passed away from cancer many years ago. It’s a great opportunity to work with students to do something for our community while honoring her memory,” Reyes continued.

Guo explained the overarching purpose of Relay for Life. “While the ultimate goal of Relay for Life is to raise awareness and money for the American Cancer Society, the purpose of this year’s event was to bring RFL back to Exeter. We focused on educating the community about Exeter Relay for Life traditions. For instance, we made sure that the ‘oasis,’ a big wooden cage you can pay to lock your friends in, would be at the event.”

“Bringing students together for one cause,” Reyes agreed, “and honoring those who have been impacted by cancer in some way. We raised money to support the work of the American Cancer Society, while also having an event on campus where all are welcome and can have fun and support others.”

Comparing this year’s Relay for Life to other years, Reyes noted, “this year’s event was different because it was a rebuilding year…The only students who knew what Relay for Life was at PEA are four-year seniors and some of them don’t remember the event well. All the students had to try to picture what we were asking them to do without the institutional memory.”

Much to the team’s delight, the event had a great turnout. “Aside from the mask mandate, I think that the event emulated past ones,” Guo said. “Because of Relay for Life’s unfamiliarity, we initially expected lower turnout and donations, but many students showed up and had a lot of fun. We exceeded our $3000 fundraising target, too.”

Many students in the Exeter community decided to pitch in and manage a booth at the event. “When I was in the first grade, my mom was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer, and it’s been a big part of my life,” prep Celia Dowling said. “I want to do whatever I can to help other people who have gone through the same situation as I have.”
Running her booth with Dowling was prep Kamara Williams. “We ran a booth for face-painting and it went great,” Williams said. “We came up with a layout design based on the materials we had on hand. There was also the limited time factor and the fact that there were only two of us to consider, but I think we did just fine. Everyone’s really enthusiastic about what we’re doing and it’s fun to see all the creative booths.”

Other students had a similar experience with their booths. “Zach asked me to run the oasis jail cell booth, and it was a great time,” upper Enzo Nakornsri said. “It’s a Relay for Life tradition. You pay one ticket to get someone into jail and pay one ticket to get them out. It’s prison corruption and bribery rolled into one. I’m really glad I got to contribute to the event.”

“I ran the varsity lacrosse booth, where we painted nails teal for ovarian cancer,” lower Annika Finelli said. “I had a really great experience!”

Lower Eamin Ahmed was a part of the boys’ and girls’ cross-country team’s booth. “I think it’s great that we have this event,” he said. “It got the school together in a really meaningful way. The cross-country team was running a crepe station where you could get these crepes with strawberry, chocolate, and other flavors. Lots of people came over and bought our stuff, so that was great.”

Cashier and prep Angelina Gong shared similar remarks. “I decided to take part in this event because I think it’s a really great cause,” she said. “There are people who are close to me who have been affected, like my grandmother with breast cancer. I sold tickets––50 cents per ticket that they could use in each booth. I signed up as a volunteer in the email they sent out.”

A similar theme of personal connection to the event was further shared by many others. “My mom has cancer and it’s affected our lives in so many ways,” upper Holden Quaresma said. “I wanted to help the Exeter community and everyone who might be in a similar situation.”

“I had fun with our booth, too–– it already had a lot of materials and the classics community is really close, so it wasn’t too difficult to get people on board,” Quaresma continued. “It was about rallying the community. We’ve done a lot of stuff like this in the past but this is for a really meaningful cause. I’m proud that we all came together in such a short amount of time, and that we managed to pull something like this together.” 

Many of those in attendance appreciated the event. “I attended the event because one of my family friends recently passed away from cancer. Relay for Life was an impactful and meaningful event. I am glad the Academy hosted such an event to raise awareness,” upper Ming Thompson said.

“My favorite booth was the jail booth,” Thompson continued. “I really enjoyed putting my friends in jail. Although I escaped myself, it was an exhilarating experience, and I had a very fun night. I also really liked the smoothie booth because the juice they made was all natural ingredients. ”

Other students greatly enjoyed the event. “I think it was a great event with a lot of scope,” prep Junhyeok Jang said. “It brought the Exeter community together and gave a spotlight to student passion in front of a lot of people. It’s great that our talents and passions were being used for a good cause. This was honestly way better than I thought it would be. There was a lot of stuff being offered. In general, it was a really lively atmosphere.”

For some upperclassmen, this year’s Relay for Life was particularly important. “This is my first Relay for Life at the Academy,” upper Ophelia Bentley said. “COVID got in the way of all the previous ones, and I’m really glad I came. It’s a great environment, a fun place to be.”

In particular, this is the last Relay for Life for the senior class. “I came to the event because I was hosting the Wentworth booth,” senior Jack Archer said. “I think it’s a fun event that also impacts other people in a really positive way. We put a lot of thought into our booth. It actually makes me sad that this is my last one at the Academy. I lost the opportunity to attend past events because of COVID, and I’m really glad I could have my last one in person.”

The significance of their last Relay for Life was a common theme among the senior class. “This is actually my first Relay for Life, incidentally,” senior Fawaz Omidiya said. “I was a new lower and there wasn’t anything like this––and if there was, I didn’t hear about it. But I’m really glad I went. It was a beautiful event, and seeing the number of people who have been affected by cancer, either directly or indirectly, creates a strong sense of community. Just being there for your friends says, let’s get together for something.”

Senior Emma Finn agreed. “I love Relay for Life,” she said. “Riley and her colleagues did an incredible job organizing this meaningful event. I know I’ll miss it next year. It was really wonderful to see the Exeter community come together for a good cause.”

Notably, the Academy’s administration recognized the time and effort put into this year’s edition of Relay for Life. “The event was fantastic,” Principal Rawson concluded. “Very well-organized and meaningful.”