IN BRIEF
REMEMBERING THE DEAD: DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS
SPORTS BUSINESS CLUB WELCOMES LPGA COMMISSIONER
LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan P’22, a former coach and athletics administrator at Lawrenceville, returned in November to address the Sports Business Club. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images Sport)
Ladies Professional Golf Association commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan P’22 spoke to members of Lawrenceville’s Sports Business Club in November, sharing stories about her career and key lessons she has learned from working in the business side of sports. After graduating from Princeton University, where she was an accomplished athlete, Marcoux Samaan came to Lawrenceville as the assistant athletic director and coach of the girls’ ice hockey and soccer teams. In 1995, she left the School to work for Chelsea Piers Management, where she gained extensive experience in the sports business industry. After spending almost two decades with Chelsea Piers, Marcoux Samaan was appointed athletic director at Princeton University, where she remained until early 2021, when she was named commissioner of the LPGA. — Ryan Jahn ’22
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T H E L AW R E N T I A N
Lawrentians gathered on November 1 to honor departed loved ones in the School’s celebration of Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. To mark the event, students and staff screened the documentary film BBC Feasts: Day of the Dead, decorated sugar skulls and skull luminarias, and served Mexican treats on the Bath House Café patio. The event was cosponsored by student clubs Latinos Unidos and the Catholic Students Organization, along with the Religious Life Council and Bunn Library.
Alexis Gonzalez ’22, co-president of Latinos Unidos, was happy to see so many students and adults at the event. “I really appreciate that so many people came and hope that this will become a Lawrenceville tradition,” she said. Community members were invited to add a photo to a Day of the Dead altar, which was decorated with flowers, candles, and other items representing the traditional Mexican holiday. Salt (to purify the soul), favorite foods and drink (for the soul to enjoy), and marigolds are traditional means of guiding souls to the altars, as are representative items recalling things that the person loved in life. “Everything is about guiding the soul back home,” said Spanish teacher Josefina AyllónNuñez. “The altar is personal so the soul knows that this is the place for them to come.”
Photos of Lawrentians’ lost loved ones filled the altar during the School’s Día de los Muertos celebration on November 1 in Bunn Library.
