Student Activities hosted After Party in partnership with Serve Lynchburg, to commemorate the end of the spring semester from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, April 25, in the LaHaye Parking Lot.
Students enjoyed food, activities and live music. Staff and guests at the event joined in the celebration of the hard work and service shared during the day at Serve Lynchburg. Food vendors such as Nomad Coffee Co., Domino’s and Rookies provided free food to students with vouchers they received from Serve Lynchburg.
Musical guests COBA, Ava Piland and Claire Leslie performed for students throughout the evening, followed by headliner Strings and Heart at 8 p.m.
Director of Student Activities Cort Comfort said the event is designed to bring students together, celebrate service and provide a time to relax before academic finals.
“On the morning of the event we announced that After Party would be rain or shine, and it turns out we got a bit of both” Comfort said. “Despite the rain, we ended up enjoying golden skies and a lovely night surrounded by dedicated fans who risked being rained on to enjoy live music.”
Comfort said that although After Party is a student-focused event, he hopes to continue developing the event and provide more involvement for students in the coming years.
“The event After Party will always be incredibly student-focused, and so our team may add another element that allows students to participate not just as guests who are enjoying the event but also as who are showing off some of those skills that them and their friends have learned over the course of the year, so my hope is that’s what after party will grow into,” Comfort said.
He said the event will continue to develop to celebrate and showcase the hard work and talent from the student body.
“It’s not just ‘Come ride on this amazing Ferris wheel,’ … but also look at what these amazing students have done,” Comfort said. “These are students you’ve spent the entire year with. Let’s look at some of the art they’ve put together.”
Comfort said that future ideas for the event could include grilling competitions, dorm-lead competitions and possibly even student-designed carnival booths.
Freshman Sarah Goddard said that After Party was one of her favorite events of the year, because it reminded her of the friends she made throughout the year.
“At the beginning of the year when there was Block Party, it was so different, because those were people I was just meeting, but then now I’m coming here with these friends that I’ve been through thick and thin with, and I’ve gotten so close to them,” Goddard said.
Freshman Gabrielle Lanz said that After Party provided her and her friends with an amazing way to unwind after their participation in Serve Lynchburg.
“We spent the whole day at World Help serving with LU Serve, and we came out here just to celebrate the end of the school year and serving today,” Lanz said.
She said attending a university that supports service and celebrates hard work has been a huge blessing in her life and has provided her with a higher calling.
“I love community, and I want to make it my life goal to be constantly serving … it says in the Bible we need to serve, and we need to demonstrate God’s love to believers and nonbelievers,” Lanz said. “So, I want to go to a school that represents that and makes that a priority, and Liberty does that. So, getting to have this After Party helps us come together and just be grateful that we’re all able to serve.”
Riden is the on-campus news editor for the Liberty Champion.