Alumni show spirit in photo contest
By Steve Seepersaud
Social media have certainly changed how we communicate with family and friends and stay connected with places that mean so much to us. Saturday, June 30, was named National Social Media Day in recognition of the far-reaching impact of sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
To commemorate this special day, the Alumni Association and Binghamton University co-sponsored a Summer Spirit photo contest that launched on Social Media Day and ran until July 6. About 30 alumni and students submitted photos that showed their Binghamton spirit. The Alumni Association's Communications and Social Media Committee judged the photos based on their originality, creativity and spirit.
Melissa DiMarco '10, from New Hyde Park, N.Y., won first prize for her picture showing herself and her friends spelling out "Binghamton" while apple picking during Homecoming weekend of 2011.
"Binghamton became more than my school, it became my home through the friendships I formed," DiMarco says. "Like a family, we had set meal times at the dining hall and we even created a few traditions of our own. Graduation in May 2010 was bittersweet as we didn't want to leave the home we grew to love. We actually sat eight graduates to seven seats during the ceremony because we didn't want to be apart. Two years later, we are all as close as ever. "
Rachel Sayson '12, also from New Hyde Park, won second prize for her photo taken while jumping for joy at Commencement 2012. The caption of her photo sums up how she felt about her time as a student: "amazing four years at Binghamton."
"The jump was photographed by my uncle, one of 11 family members who attended my graduation," Sayson says. "It was a time to celebrate all of the unforgettable experiences I had in college and all of the future experiences to come. Luckily, I was able to jump really high!"
We thank everyone who submitted a photo. We'll be running a similar contest closer to Homecoming in October, and will post announcements on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
