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By Kristen Garrett

Cancer survivors participate in the survivor lap at the third annual Relay for Life of Jaguar Nation on Friday, March 23.

A roar of cheers erupts in the main gym as cancer survivors start their lap in the survivor walk, beginning the students’ active night that is Relay for Life. On Friday, March 23, students joined forces to raise money for the American Cancer Society. By the end of the journey, Jaguar Nation raised $81,248, topping the past two years.

Open to the public between 6 to 10 p.m., people in the community participated in on-site fundraisers to enjoy good food and fun activities, with all proceeds going toward the overall event total.

Having someone close to her recently be diagnosed with cancer, sponsor Ashley Agre participates in Relay For Life because of the impact cancer has on so many people.

“I feel like it’s one of those things that so many people are affected by, and I know so many,” Agre said. “This year in particular, I had a good friend who was just diagnosed with breast cancer. Raising money, bringing awareness and doing good is important to me.”

Senior chairman Dani Crispin, one-fourth of the event’s chairmen, sees the bigger picture of the impact cancer has on people.

“I relay because I’ve had so many family members who have been affected by cancer and I’ve been able to see first hand the way that cancer affects people and their families,” Crispin said. “But I think more importantly I see the way it affects the community.”

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs team captain Ashley Baranczuk wanted to partake in Relay For Life because “cancer affects too many people” and because she believes raising money for cancer research is important.

Throughout the night, students participated in various activities that occurred every 30 minutes to an hour, including Zumba provided by Robin Gerber, yoga sponsored by YogaFit, and an open mic where students sang, led group sing-alongs, performed slam poetry and even told dad jokes. Agre enjoyed watching students have fun in these activities, even when exhaustion started to get the best of them.

“I think my favorite part tonight was the open mic night,” Agre said. “Seeing everybody in there together and singing at 3:15 in the morning was great. I love seeing all the kids have so much fun.”

After a year of hard work and preparation, Crispin enjoyed watching the event and seeing people come together for a good cause.

“My favorite part is definitely the actual event,” Crispin said. “I love just to see the joy in everybody’s faces and how excited everyone is. Even though it’s no sleeping all night, it’s really cool to see.”