Today Magazine Summer 2018 | Page 8

ALEX VALENO SPECIAL PERSONS 5K WALK/RUN DAY OF SERVICE April April 8 9 GMercyU’s Special Education Club hosted the 6th annual Alex Valeno Special Persons 5K Walk/Run. The event is in honor of Alex Valeno, a former Griffin who died in 2013 from a pre-existing heart condition. In addition to the 5K, the Special Education Club dedicated a bench to Alex that will sit at the heart of campus at GMercyU’s Bell Tower. Members of the GMercyU Community, including students, faculty, staff and the leadership team, packaged more than 15,000 meals for Catholic Relief Services’ Helping Hands Program to help the people in Burkina Faso, West Africa. In all of my listening and “ learning, one thing is abundantly clear. The number one priority of this university is right where it should be - on students. ACADEMIC SYMPOSIUM April 10 ” - President D’Emilio HEALTH AND WELLNESS FAIR April 11 Cora Marie Billings, RSM, who is a member of the Anti-Racism Transformation Team for the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, served as the keynote speaker for GMercyU’s Academic Symposium titled “Integration of the Critical Concerns of the Sisters of Mercy into the Signature Seminars.” Following the keynote, select GMercyU faculty led a panel discussion with input from students. 6 TODAY GMercyU’s annual Health and Wellness Fair featured more than 20 organizations providing health and wellness services, including nutritional counseling, eye exams, and information on sports safety.