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The ������Ƶ University Class of 2023 held the traditional Junior Class Tree Blessing Ceremony April 28 on the Administration Building Front Lawn.

The class dedicated their tree in memory of Maclean “Mac” Maund, a member of the Class of 2023, who died in a vehicle accident in January 2020 during his freshman year at ������Ƶ. Maund, a Penn-Trafford High School graduate, was a member of the ������Ƶ baseball team.

“This year we are recognizing and acknowledging Mac Maund and the extraordinary impact he has had on our campus and continues to have at ������Ƶ despite his short time here as a member of our community,“ said President Mary Finger.

While Mac only spent a brief time living at ������Ƶ, his history on campus started years before with baseball camps and youth games at the ������Ƶ baseball field.

The ������Ƶ baseball team as well as Maundʼs parents, Pete and Heather Maund, were in attendance at the event. Friends, classmates and teammates offered their memories and prayers during the ceremony.

“Mac was a friend, a teammate, a son and, even for a short time, he was a Griffin,” said Marc Marrizaldi, ������Ƶʼs Head Baseball Coach. “We miss Mac every day but this tree signifies one of the many ways his spirit continues to live on, both on our campus and in our hearts.”

Lance Edwards ʼ22, who was Maund's Resident Advisor, said that what comes to mind when he thinks about Mac is his smile.

“From the few months I knew Mac, I saw the impact he had on the community and his peers. His joy and light was contagious,” Edwards said. “I encourage you all to smile because he did that every day. His smile was a part of his personality – of who he was.”

The junior class at ������Ƶ University has an established tradition of planting a tree on campus each year since 1920. The Class of 2023 tree will be planted as part of the second row of trees being added along ������Ƶ Drive.