By Joe Africano
The Class of 2022 Council hosted this year’s annual WNE Walks charity event to help a WNE family member, Dave Stawasz, who sadly passed away due to his battle with cancer. Dave Stawasz worked in the Department of Marketing and External Affairs, then served as Assistant Vice President in his 16 years here at WNE. He leaves behind his wife and two daughters who are still a part of the Golden Bear family, despite not attending the school.
The purpose of the walk was to raise money for the family to help them with anything, such as school and other expenses. The well-planned route stretched across campus for a typical 5 kilometers (3.2 miles). While the council members would have liked to have had a large crowd walking, since COVID-19 is still present in our lives, the students could donate and walk their time in a socially-distanced manner to support the Stawasz family.
The walk began at Commonwealth Lawn, where people could sign up, donate to the cause, and receive a t-shirt. When signing up, you could either walk on your own or with one of the volunteers who walk with you to keep you company and show you the way.
The course went behind LaRiviere building, starting from Commonwealth Lawn, up across from the tennis courts to the Southwood building going past the baseball field and football field, going past the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center and the Center of the Sciences and Pharmacy,ck to Commonwealth Lawn. After finishing the course, people received donuts, drinks, and were encouraged to stay and listen to WNEK Radio’s music.
When going on the walk myself, I was walking with Nate Boucher, one of the many people who planned WNE Walks. Talking to Boucher, he told me he had a close relationship with Dave Stawasz and had grown up with his daughters. He said that while the proceeds might not solve all their problems, he was still happy to do it for Stawasz’s memory, since he was a good man who had helped Boucher and other students here at WNE. He was completely surprised to hear about his passing.
It was nice to know how much Dave Stawasz has affected many student’s lives for the last 16 years on campus. Seeing many students work hard to raise money for Dave’s family shows that our Golden Bear community is a proud family who helps one another and will keep their memories alive for a long time. Seeing students there and learning about all of the students who donated and walked shows that even in a global pandemic, we Golden Bears still reach out and help others in any way possible.
The Class of 2022 Council showed how important Dave Stawasz was here at WNE and how his impact was so positive in many student’s lives. While I never met him, hearing the work he did on campus showed us why we should all remember Dave Stawsz and how one person can impact many people’s lives.
