With graduation in May approaching quickly, UNC’s Campus Y is looking to celebrate the senior members who have been vital to the organization with an End of Year Celebration on April 18 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the Campus Y building.
The Campus Y — whose mission is to engage the UNC community to fight and advocate for social justice — is hoping to show appreciation for the dedicated seniors through this annual event.
Though the event will be informal and open to the public, the celebration of the Campus Y seniors will be personal and intimate. Junior Sloan Godbey, the director of finance for Campus Y, said the event is giving the seniors a space to share their final remarks and memories of their work.
“The Campus Y is so centered on student work and student involvement that when seniors come through, it’s always sad to see them go,” Godbey said. “We like to honor them and give them time to reflect back on what they’ve done and give us time to reflect on what they’ve done.”
Junior Meenu Immaneni, the director of membership for Campus Y, said the event will include speeches that are dedicated to a particular senior to emphasize their impact on the organization and the UNC community as a whole, as well as a video to honor those graduating.
“The Y, I feel like for a lot of people, is a big part of their time here,” Immaneni said. “It’s just a little moment to celebrate that and kind of just cement that.”
Jessica Bolin, former co-director of the Campus Y and one of the seniors who will be celebrated, said she joined the Campus Y her first year because it felt like home during a time she felt intimidated by the size of UNC's campus. Bolin said the Campus Y has been important throughout her college journey, so she is excited to commemorate the accomplishments she and others have made within the community during her four years as a member of the organization.
“I think this is a really great opportunity to allow everyone to reflect on the incredible impact they’ve had on campus and in the community and to really recognize that,” Bolin said.
Social activism is at the heart of the Campus Y's mission and many of the senior members have worked hard to accomplish the organization’s goals, Godbey said. She said the members spend long hours working and put in a large amount of effort for the UNC community, so the event is to show the seniors that their efforts over the last four years did not go unnoticed.
