On Saturday, November 19, students gathered on Kayo Field to participate in the

University of New Haven’s 7 th annual Turkey Trot. Competitors donated a combination

of canned goods and a small fee to run or walk the 5k course.

Donated canned goods went straight to the West Haven Emergency Assistant Task

Force (W.H.E.A.T.), which is a private non-profit organization that works with the

Connecticut Food Bank. W.H.E.A.T. will be supplying families of West Haven with

almost 500 food baskets this season.

The five to ten dollar registration fees were put aside for the TeamREC Student

Employee Scholarship Fund, usually awarded to two Charger REC employees. The

scholarship is given to a qualified REC employee chosen by the pro staff. Other events

and fees, such as the $15 forfeit fee for REC sports teams are also put toward the

scholarship.

Keira Mezei, a building supervisor and volunteer at the run, says that her favorite part

about working at the REC are the members and her co-workers.

“Going on shift is the best thing, because no matter who I work with, we always have fun

times and we really develop a team mentality,” Mezei says “We’re college students

running a facility. I mean you get so much experience out of it, coming on you always

learn something new, and we learn it together and we share it with others.”

Other volunteers from Ski/Snowboard Club, Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse, and

Women’s Track and Field also helped man the course through campus.

Participants were given Charger REC bags, water bottles, and a Turkey Trot T-Shirt,

along with post-run snacks.

The male and female winners were Matt Diehl and Claire Smith with times of 24:12 and

24:39, respectively. According to Diehl, this was his first time participating in the

Turkey Trot; he also competes on the club soccer team. Smith ran last year and is the

Graduate Assistant of Campus REC, Club Sports, and Risk Management.