Phoenix Nation as in Spirit

My name is Cleo Hamilton. I graduated in 2020 from Syracuse University with a certificate in sports management. I am from Syracuse, New York. I am currently interning in the Office of Alumni Engagement on campus. Some of the things I do during my internship include reviewing the Office of Alumni Engagement’s Instagram projects, assisting in creating and participating in the Orange Central 2020 video, and helping to manage and distribute materials for Orange Central 2020. Throughout my internship, I felt very connected to the staff within the Office of Alumni Engagement and felt that my work was valued.

One thing people notice about me is how much I love Syracuse University (SU). I am always wearing SU colors. During my four years on campus, I participated in a wide variety of events, clubs, and organizations. I will write a little about what I did on campus and share some pictures of my experience. I am very active on social media, always posting pictures. There was an article I published with Beth Myers and Katherine Vroman that uses my Facebook posts to talk about my first two years of college. If you want to follow me, you can follow me @realbronzeyellowphoenix25. I picked out photographs that tell a little about my college experience.

One of the first things I did on campus was participate in the OttoTHON, a dance marathon that supports Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital. Here is a picture of my team at OttoTHON (Figure 23.1). In my junior year, I raised over $900 through social media. This made me feel happy that I could make a difference. From my sophomore to senior year, I was part of the Morale Dance Committee as part of OttoTHON. In my senior year, I was the morale captain for the committee. I was also part of the eboard for OttoTHON.

A couple of other things I did during my time at SU include Relay for Life. I participated in Relay for Life for three years. Each year we would do a twelve-hour walking event to raise money. I was the recruitment chair and I sent emails to other students to get them to participate. I felt it was important not only to join Relay for Life but also to get others to participate in it because it helps people. Relay for Life also gave me another opportunity to be connected on campus.

I was the first InclusiveU student to participate in the student government association at SU. It was important for me to be involved in the student government association at SU because it gave me the opportunity to help other SU students and student organizations. Being the first InclusiveU student to join the student government association at SU helped give representation to all SU students. When I joined the Student Association, I participated in weekly meetings, and sometimes the student newspaper would report on our meetings. I was interviewed for different articles in the student newspaper, including one about World Autism Awareness Day (Myelle Lansat, “SU Students Continue the Dialogue Ahead of World Autism Awareness Day,” Daily Orange, April 2, 2018, http://dailyorange.com/2018/04/su-students-continue-dialogue-ahead-world-autism-awareness-day/). In this article, I talk about how I have a positive attitude and want to succeed.

I also traveled with people from InclusiveU to Washington, D.C., to speak at a screening on the film Intelligent Lives. This is a picture of me wearing a suit looking out over a lobby in the Senate. Many people have told me that they like this picture of me (Figure 23.2). In D.C., we talked to alumni of SU. I talked to senators and other people about college. I also spoke at the State of the Art Conference in Reno.

One of the best things that happened to me while I was a student at SU was being chosen as a Remembrance Scholar (“History,” Remembrance, Syracuse University, https://remembrance.syr.edu/about/). The scholar program is dedicated to the thirty-five SU students who died as part of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988. My friend Tori was a Remembrance Scholar during my sophomore year. She invited me to a candlelight vigil as part of the Remembrance Week. In the following year, I attended the rose-laying ceremony. I decided to apply for the scholar program. I worked hard on my application, and I was picked. This is a picture of me and the fellow scholars (Figure 23.3).

This is an article my friend Karly wrote about me and the Remembrance Scholar program: Karly Grifasi, “Remembrance Scholar Cleo Hamilton Exemplifies Student Leadership and Commitment,” Syracuse University News, Campus & Community, May 31, 2019, https://news.syr.edu/blog/2019/05/31/remembrance-scholar-cleo-hamilton-exemplifies-student-leadership-and-commitment/.

When I found out I was chosen to be a Remembrance Scholar, I was shocked and happy. Being a Remembrance Scholar meant that I was one of only thirty-five students to be selected. I was also the first InclusiveU student to be selected. It was important to me to be chosen as a Remembrance Scholar because it meant that I was really a part of the SU community.

I have had so many opportunities to participate in organizations, attend events, and meet people at Syracuse. I am very happy with my decision to go to Syracuse. To me, Syracuse University is the best university out there. Since I graduated from InclusiveU, I have been working and am planning for my future, where I hope to move to Brooklyn and become a sports photographer. I feel I am ready for this after my time at InclusiveU at Syracuse University.