St. Baldrick's Day: Time for a New Haircut

Mia Kincade ’25 in News | May 5, 2023

This past Saturday, on April 29, Lawrenceville hosted its eighth annual St. Baldrick’s event in Dresdner Hall, where students signed up to have their heads shaved or hair cut in support of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a non-profit supporting pediatric cancer research. Aside from the shaving, there were also various student performances at the event.

Student Council Community Service Representative Sara Chiang ’23 explained that St. Baldrick’s “started as a student initiative” and has since become an annual event. Even though it is only “one Saturday evening in our school year,” Chiang thinks “it’s really beautiful to see everyone come together as a community to support their friends and enjoy time together.” Reflecting on the event, Chiang noted “how fun, talented, and generous our students at Lawrenceville are.” To see Lawrenceville students and faculty participate so enthusiastically was “heart-warming” for Chiang.

Churan Xu ’25, a performer at the event, found that “people were really engaged and really seemed to enjoy themselves at the event.” Xu also noted that St. Baldrick’s really highlighted Lawrenceville’s “strong capacity to care for others outside the community as well as inside of our community.”

Reflecting on her experience at St. Baldrick’s, Claire Jiang ’24 said that she initially felt “some apprehension and nervousness about cutting eight inches of hair, but loved seeing the encouragement and positive affirmations from friends and faculty.” For Jiang, the support of her peers eased the anxiety of cutting her hair.

Jiang noted that “there's something quite intimate about cutting and shaving your hair—it's a personal part of yourself that you're giving away,” adding to her excitement for the event. Even though it was her first time participating, she noted that St. Baldrick’s was “one of [her] favorite moments this term,” because “not only did [she] get to contribute to an amazing cause, but [she] got to do so while celebrating with my friends and the community.”

Aiden Mellon ’23, who signed up to have his head shaved, said that St. Baldrick’s “certainly made for a memorable, warm-spirited night, and brought out the more altruistic part of ourselves.” “St. Baldrick’s gives the Lawrenceville community a great way to come together and support a charitable cause,” he said.

Mellon, Jiang, and Xu all brought up the appearance of a group of students from England, who were visiting in order to partake in one of Lawrenceville’s lab programs. The British students contributed to the event by performing a number of songs, which “added to the liveliness and intrigue of this year’s St. Baldrick’s,” according to Mellon.

Overall, St. Baldrick’s this year gave students the opportunity to come together, perform, and give back to the community by supporting pediatric cancer research.

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St. Baldrick's Day: Time for a New Haircut