Last Friday, The University held one of the best events I’ve been too all year: Relay for Life! Incase you’re not familiar, Relay for Life is an overnight cancer benefit that most schools and towns participate in. Men and Women for Octaves, along with many other Scranton clubs/sports, had a team. It was really incredible to see so many students come together to support a great cause. Relay for Life was pretty popular in high school, but I wasn’t sure if it would be as popular in college. The event was held in the Byron Center, started at around 7PM and lasted until around 7AM the next morning. And though that is a long time, the night was filled with a number of activities: races, games, Quizzo, and even Zumba! (I must admit my director Jimmy and I were mostly excited for Zumba!)
Two high school friends and I at Relay
Each team there also had some sort of fundraiser. Some students created games, gave henna tattoos, sold food etc. However, Octaves was a little more creative. Our fundraiser there was having anyone donate two dollars and in return, we’d sing any song of their choice on the spot! We had quite a few people requests songs, one girl even wanted to sing for her boyfriend! But whether we were getting donations or not, the singing never stopped. I think it’s safe to say it is near impossible to hang out with an a cappella group and not be singing something. Our beatboxer Jim also brought along his guitar for the night so we all had a blast jamming with him.
Octaves in the Byron Center
But in between all the fun and games there were some incredibly heartfelt moments. Royal Harmony and Octaves both sang during the Luminaria Ceremony. The ceremony consists of two laps around the gym, the survivor lap and the remembrance lap. Octaves thought our best song to sing during the remembrance lap was without a doubt A Sky Full of Stars. Words cannot even begin to describe how beautiful that moment was. Knowing how cancer has affected almost everyone in that room really put the group in another world when we started singing. It’s times like this that remind how powerful and how emotional music can truly be. Performing at Relay for Life has made me even MORE excited for our concert on Sunday.
Just like at Railrider Stadium, Relay for Life really gave Octaves another bonding experience. I’ve been spending a lot of time with my fellow singers these past few days and I can truly say I’m more thankful than ever for my spot in the group. This semester has been filled with great performances and even greater memories; I don’t want it to come to an end!
Catherine E. Bombard
Hi! My name's Catherine, but you can call me Catie and I'm a sophomore from Wayne, NJ here at the University of Scranton. I'm an English major, Communication minor hoping to have a career in publishing one day. I'm a member and the publicist of Octaves, an a cappella group on campus, along with being a writer and editor for The Aquinas, the student newspaper. Thanks for checking out the student blogs and I hope you enjoy hearing about my "Scranton Experience"! :)
