Bee Promise: An Act of Service Beyond Our Campus

Ambrosians jumped into a fall semester like no other, determined to make the best of an uncomfortable situation and achieve their goals. We were asked to commit to the Bee Safe, Bee Responsible Promise: wear a mask, social distance, and avoid large gatherings, for starters. Instead of viewing the rules as constricting, Ambrosians, like always, turned it around.

Adhering to the rules and health-safety guidance actually broadened our opportunities. Unlike many universities, we spent this fall living and learning on campus, taking classes, and teaching face-to-face while growing skills and leadership in clubs and activities and giving and receiving support.

Those opportunities, and more, await us in the spring semester, too. But first, we have to remain vigilant and strong and continue to follow the Promise during winter break and into the months beyond.

In the past three months, we asked students, faculty, and staff to share why they follow the Promise – and why others should, too. Their words are featured on posters across campus and in videos on social media. In his own words below, SAU senior Damon Wolter, co-executive director of the SAU Dance Marathon, shares another reason we must uphold COVID-19 safety guidelines during winter break and into the spring: this is not only about us. Following the Bee Safe, Bee Responsible Promise is an act of service that touches people far beyond our campus.

There is a lengthy list of things I am looking forward to next semester. I am looking forward to coming back to campus and learning one last time in-person from our wonderful professors. I am looking forward to getting to hang out and live alongside my friends. I am also extremely excited about taking my final steps as an undergraduate student at St. Ambrose and walking across the graduation stage to receive my diploma from Sister Joan.

The thing that I am looking forward to more than anything else, however, is the SAU Dance Marathon Big Event. This past spring, we were informed that we would not be returning to school just a mere two weeks away from our big event. After working all year in preparation, it was crushing to learn we could not hold our event in-person. It hurt the students who spent countless hours working to put on the event and raise money for children with pediatric illness, and it devastated our families and kiddos who had been looking forward to attending all year. Next spring, we hope to have our event in-person, bring everyone together, and host an event that truly changes lives. In order to do so, we need everyone to continue to wear masks, follow social distancing rules, and adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines set forth in the Bee Safe, Bee Responsible Promise.

While Dance Marathon is an organization that works year-round to provide support to families who have children suffering from pediatric illness, our largest and most impactful event is the Big Event. On this day, students celebrate the lives of our kiddos and stand for 13.1 hours straight to show the families that they are not alone in their battles. It is a brief window of time where the kiddos and families can forget about the pain and suffering they have gone through and replace it with happiness and hope. It is our chance to let our kiddos be the superstars they deserve to be. Most importantly, it is a day where we can show our kiddos that there are such things as happy endings.

SAU Dance Marathon is the largest student organization at St. Ambrose. Students spend countless hours working on committees to make the Big Event the best experience possible. In those magical 13.1 hours, lives are changed. Students make connections and establish meaningful relationships with our miracle families. They make new best friends with our kiddos while also creating memories they will never forget.

If you've never attended a Big Event, it is hard to explain the energy that fills the air at the end of the night. When hundreds of young, motivated students are brought together in one place and become united by the singular cause of helping others, it creates a feeling and atmosphere that can only be described as "special." Students put aside their differences and come together from all backgrounds, clubs, interests, and activities to accomplish something that is unquestionably incredible. It is also where the next generation of miracle makers become inspired to take on greater roles in helping others and making the world a better place.

If we remain vigilant in our efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during winter break and spring semester, we will be rewarded in so many ways. We will have the chance to learn in-person instead of through the glare of a computer screen. We will be able to spend time on campus as part of an inclusive, nurturing, and helpful community. We will be able to dance through the night while raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for children with pediatric illness. More than anything else, however, we will be able to make memories with friends that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

–Damon Wolter, SAU senior majoring in Accounting, Finance, and Business Economics, and co-executive director of SAU Dance Marathon

Click here to learn more about SAU Dance Marathon

Click here to learn more about the Bee Safe, Bee Responsible Promise