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With only two nights left before graduation, over 450 members of the Class of 2017 flocked to Serra Manor to celebrate the 6th Annual Champagne Toast Reception. Beginning in 2012, the Champagne Toast Reception serves as an opportunity for the Office of Alumni Relations to celebrate the completion of the Senior Gift Campaign with graduating seniors and welcome them as the newest alumni of Siena College.
This year's event, which has become one of the most popular and beloved events on campus, was even more of a celebration than in previous years. For their Senior Gift project, the Class of 2017 Senior Gift Committee chose to create an endowment that would support the Champagne Toast, traditionally sponsored by the Office of the President and Alumni Relations. When considering projects for the Senior Gift, Committee member Amy Polchinski ‘17 stated, “We wanted to leave a legacy that would provide future Saints with a tradition that we hold near and dear to our hearts.”
Initially, the Committee set out to raise $12,000 over the course of the year. The Class of 2017 responded, in force, and exceeded that goal before the spring semester even began. Early success prompted an increase in the goal to $17,000 (for ‘17), which would have been a new record (previous high was $16,321 by 2012). “After all that Siena has given to us over the years, we knew it was our turn to finally give back,” said Anthony Pelliccia ‘17, a member of the Senior Gift Committee. “When it came time, we had to go above and beyond to show what Siena has done for the Class of 2017.”
$17,000 ended up as a small victory on the way to a much larger success. While addressing the crowd at the Champagne Toast, Jake Hill ‘09, Associate Director of Alumni Relations and manager of the Senior Gift Campaign, announced that the Senior Gift had just surpassed $21,000; breaking the previous record and adding almost $5,000 on top. Hill also remarked on the number of donors and attendees to Senior Gift fundraisers, both of which were records.
“It was no surprise the Class of 2017 broke the record,” said Andy Murphy ‘17, Student Senate President Emeritus. “We knew we could do it with the help of our deeply involved classmates!”
Furthermore, the event program included brief speeches from Mary Beth Finnerty ‘85, Director of Alumni Relations, Siena President, Br. Edward Coughlin, O.F.M., Ph. D., and a well-known Siena song, led by Fr. Daniel Dwyer ‘74, O.F.M., and several other Friars.
Thank you to all of the generous donors to the Class of 2017 Senior Gift! The Fund is still open and accepting donations at www.siena.edu/seniorgift. Congratulations to the Class of 2017!
