This year’s meal included turkey and tofurky with all the traditional trimmings—including vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Photos by Donovan Snell ’26
Eckerd College President Jim Annarelli, Ph.D., and his wife, Anna, along with students, faculty and other members of the Eckerd community gathered on campus in Fox Hall on Thanksgiving Day to celebrate the holiday together.
After Vice President for Student Life Amy Falvo, Ph.D., introduced the event and senior chemistry student from Bronx, New York, Presch Potesak read the College’s land acknowledgment, the feast began.
Guests quickly queued to fill their plates with turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole and a plethora of other dishes, including vegetarian delicacies.
The tradition had started in 2001 when the dinner was first hosted by the Annarellis and Jim was Eckerd’s associate vice president for academic affairs and dean of students. Falvo and her husband, Mike, now co-host the event with the Annarellis.
“This year was the most attended yet,” Falvo said.
The increased attendance may have been due to the two recent hurricanes that required students to evacuate from campus for about a month, Falvo added. Not only were more students staying on campus and joining the lunch this year, but more community members who have been displaced due to damage to their homes joined too, she said.
Amelia Burns ’26 enjoys a Thanksgiving meal outdoors on Fox Hall patio.
“It is so important to have a place where we can all gather, be together and share thanks for this community we call home,” Falvo said. “Eckerd is a truly special place with special people. These past few months have reiterated how blessed we are that the hurricanes spared our campus and we could all come together again.”
Celeste “Nana” Paultre, a senior sociology student from Knoxville, Tennessee, decided to stay in St. Petersburg for the holiday to avoid a costly flight or 10-hour drive for a short break, she said. She had stayed on campus for Thanksgiving before, but this was her first time to attend the lunch.
Of the array of food selections, Nana most enjoyed the mashed potatoes and gravy, as well as the desserts, such as pumpkin chai cupcakes.
Isabella Trais, a junior marine science and environmental studies student from Mount Prospect, Illinois, had also never attended this event before.
“I always love Thanksgiving,” she said, “because it is a celebration of gratitude, a way of unifying people—and the food is good too.”
Isabella felt busy with coursework, so with just one week of classes post-Thanksgiving, she had decided to stay in town. She described spending Thanksgiving on campus as welcoming—as it “brings home to Eckerd.”
