UD Student Hosts Thanksgiving On Campus

Grace James   
Contributing Writer

For most college students, Thanksgiving is a time to go back to their hometown, enjoy the comforts of home and, of course, enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. For one Flyer, however, she decided to bring Thanksgiving to UD.

Tess Sweeney is a junior human rights major from Albany, NY. Instead of traveling back to New York over the break, she decided to bring her family to Ohio, hosting Thanksgiving in her on-campus house.

This is not the first time Sweeney’s family has had an unconventional Thanksgiving. In 2016, Tess’ sister Sara, who graduated from Xavier University, hosted Thanksgiving for the whole family in her apartment in Cincinnati

“She [Sara] gave them a grand tour of Xavier,” Sweeney said. “I wanted to show off Dayton.”

Due to the long distance between UD and her hometown, Sweeney’s parents hadn’t been on campus since July when Sweeney moved in. Thanksgiving was a perfect time to show her family around when the campus was peaceful and quiet.

“I think they definitely understand UD better,” Sweeney said.

On the big day, Sweeney’s mother cooked a traditional Thanksgiving meal using what was on hand, but not without hitting a few snags along the way.

“College kids don’t have the same utensils as parents do,” Sweeney said.

Nonetheless, the family made do with what Sweeney had, complete with red solo cups for their wine. They enjoyed a mixture of foods from Dayton, as well as New York, enjoying the best of both worlds.

The day after Thanksgiving, Sweeney took her parents and sister on a tour of campus using the Link bikes, which are part of Dayton’s bike sharing program. Sweeney also commented that the weather was better in Dayton than in Albany, which was a pleasant surprise everyone enjoyed.

“It was so pretty,” she said. “Everything lined up perfectly.” 

Photo courtesy of Tess Sweeney.