“The best part about St. Lawrence is that you’re always surrounded by good people,” Danzel Blash ’13 says.

He first heard about St. Lawrence when he was applying to schools and someone told him about the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP). “It was an opportunity for me to go to a better school and get a better degree,” he says. “I visited on one of those absolutely beautiful St. Lawrence days when students are out and there’s a little crisp in the air. It was peaceful for me.”

The performance and communication arts major grew up in the Bronx, N.Y., where life is “fast-paced and is like clockwork,” he says. “I love the small campus and that things move at a different pace at St. Lawrence. Here you can have conversations with random people and smile at people as you walk across campus. There aren’t a lot of smiles given on New York City streets.”

Danzel says being at St. Lawrence has inspired him to get involved on campus and in the community. He works for the University’s Calling All Saints (CAS) program, phoning alumni and asking them to give to their alma mater. “It’s important to give back to places that mean a lot to you,” he says, noting he’s already begun giving to the University as a student. “My gift is my thank you to St. Lawrence for giving me so many opportunities.”

When he’s not busy in class, working for CAS, or being a part of the Thelomathesian Society, St. Lawrence’s student government, he’s enjoying life at St. Lawrence.
“I don’t ever miss the steak dinner at the Pub on Thursdays,” he says. “Every week my friends and I grab dinner and shoot pool in the student center. My favorite thing to do is be surrounded by the people here.”