Department teamwork leads to Christmas on campus
All photos by Senior Designer Riley Latham
While Lee University students and faculty prepare for final exams, Director of Event Planning Marbi DiPastena begins spreading the Christmas spirit on campus. This is DiPastena’s first year leading the planning and operations behind transforming Lee’s buildings into festive displays.
The collaboration of offices, clubs and businesses helping make Lee festive is meant to support the communal aspect of Christmas. DiPastena and her team are assisted by Physical Plant in hanging nearly 250 wreaths across Lee’s campus. This feat requires extension ladders and lifts to garnish second or third floors of buildings.
DiPastena decided to decorate earlier than previous years and pull decorations from storage beginning Nov. 8 to give students more time to experience the lights and celebratory feel of campus before winter break.
“We really hope that in the few weeks you get to experience Christmas here at Lee, it just feels festive,” said DiPastena. “That it begins to springboard and launch you guys into the spirit of Christmas.”
By splitting campus into sectors, the decorating teams were able to focus on certain buildings each day. The front half of campus, including the Higginbotham Administration Building, Walker Memorial Building and the Science and Math Complex, were decorated together.
Another sector was the Communication Arts building, the School of Nursing and the Forum. The Humanities building had its own sector since it is the most decorated building on campus, DiPastena said.
The annual tree lighting traditionally takes place in front of the Humanities building and is a staple event of the season. The tree lighting ceremony took place on Nov. 19.
“We buy the big, 20-foot-tall Christmas tree,” said DiPastena. “We buy it from a tree farm in Virginia, and it’s shipped here.”
The tree lighting was funded and supported by the Student Engagement Office and the President’s Office.
This is the first year Director of Student Engagement Alex Staup took the lead on the campus-wide event. The preparation consisted of creating and updating tasks lists and considering all aspects of engagement. This year, Staup worked with Servant Leadership Training to help plan portions of the event.
“It’s one of my favorite events because it gets to be collaborative across campus, and we get to work in so many different areas,” said Staup.
Staup said the teamwork between DiPastena and Physical Plant makes the tree lighting a significant experience for the Lee community.
“They do incredible work, and the spotlight should definitely be on them,” said Staup.
The tradition of Christmas cookies, a band and a ‘special guest’ are key components to the event. In the future, Staup hopes to encompass the student-led focus of the event by incorporating student-led bands.
Staup hopes the collaboration of campus offices set the tone for community within the event.
“It’s for students but also staff and faculty. We want to make sure that everything is for staff and faculty to come and bring their kids as well,” said Staup. “I think that’s a beautiful moment when students can interact with staff and faculty as a whole. A true familial connection.”
The decorations are pulled from various storage spaces around campus. There is storage space in the basement of Pangle Hall, the School of Nursing, the Forum, the Humanities building, the Conn Center, the Science and Math Complex basement, the Chapel and the Paul Conn Student Union.
DiPastena also partners with volunteers and staff members who want to contribute to the decorating operation. Delta Zeta Tau helped fluff wreaths and bows before they were hung on campus. Along with other participants, the club volunteered to set up seven Christmas trees in various buildings and lobbies.
DiPastena made some changes to tradition by adding more lights to the front of the Humanities building and incorporating a local service, Nooga Lights, in the Christmas spirit on campus.
“One of the things we love and get comments about from the people in the community in general is they love driving through campus,” said DiPastena. “Our goal is as you drive through the center of downtown Cleveland that the theme of Christmas just continues to carry all the way down beyond Lee.”
Nooga Lights, owned by John Haustein, has been a professional lighting company for four years. The company is involved in lighting the community of Cleveland and was originally introduced to Lee University through Mayor Kevin Brooks.
“We started looking at several buildings on campus and decided the Humanities would be the most impressive,” said Haustein.
Haustein brought a team of six to install lights on the Humanities building.
DiPastena provided several opportunities for the Lee community to decorate their home away from home. Her goal for this year was to finish decorating by Nov. 19.
“I was a student at Lee years ago, and for me, I would come home at Christmas break, and the house was already decorated,” said DiPastena. “I missed it… If we can provide an atmosphere that helps you get into that groove early, we want to do that.”
