Kicking Off the Season with Holiday Cheer

On Friday, Oct. 24, members of various UIW student organizations participated in the annual Light the Way Display Board Contest on the Broadway campus. This festive event invites students to get into the holiday spirit early as they decorate boards that will be displayed at the 39th Light the Way Holiday Festival on Saturday, Nov. 22. On the day of UIW’s annual holiday celebration, the boards will be displayed across the Broadway campus, showcasing the creativity of UIW’s Cardinal community.

In the morning, students gathered their paints, brushes and sponges in order to decorate the entirety of their boards. Every group promptly got to work sketching their own original designs that reflected their respective student organizations with a touch of holiday cheer. Some boards included popular Christmas characters, scenic snowy landscapes, Broadway campus landmarks and even UIW mascot Red the Cardinal. Students grinned ear to ear as they gradually brought their designs to life.

“It was great to see all the UIW student organizations come together to get involved in the display board decorating for Light the Way this year,” expressed Eric Booth, dean of Campus Life and Display Board Contest judge. “I enjoy seeing our campus community working together in support of this great event. The energy, creativity and talent the students used to create these display boards made judging extremely difficult as there were several boards that deserved recognition. There were many great display boards, and I am excited for the local community to see them around campus this holiday season.”

The contest concluded in the afternoon, with a total of 29 boards uniquely decorated for the contest’s judges to review. Students had the chance to win organization funds by placing in contest categories including Best Interpretation of Light the Way, Most Mission Friendly Design and People’s Choice Award.

Each board was a work of art, but these student organizations took home the top spots:

Best Interpretation of Light the Way

1st Place: Student Government Association (SGA)

2nd Place: Kinesiology Club

3rd Place: Chemistry and Biomedical Research Society

Most Mission Friendly Design

1st Place: African Student Organization

2nd Place: Stand Out Alliance

3rd Place: Christian Pharmacist Fellowship International

People’s Choice Award

1st Place: INK

2nd Place: Alpha Sigma Alpha

3rd Place: Student Government Association (SGA)

“Winning Best Interpretation of Light the Way was a unifying experience for the entire SGA team,” shared SGA President Tyler Simmons. “It brought us together around the holiday spirit, and it was incredible to see so many student organizations creatively contribute to such a cherished campus tradition.”

“We are a small club, and we came into this challenge unsure of how well we could execute it with our limited resources but still hopeful,” noted INK President Joelle Lamaie, who’s organization won 1st place in the People Choice Award category with 781 votes. “We truly came together and gave it our best, from the sketch to the last stroke of paint. We are so grateful to members of other organizations who offered their help and sincere encouragement. We are also so grateful for the award, which is going to increase accessibility to our campus-wide book club.”

Come see this year’s display boards at the 2025 Light the Way Holiday Festival when campus is illuminated by over a million twinkling lights!