By: Max Bruns ~Staff Writer~

The Gallagher Student Center renovations for a new student space will include the introduction of an innovative tribute to the intellectual achievements of Xavier University Alumni.

Pitched by the Xavier University Arrupe Group, a group of dedicated seniors who have been nominated to work together on a board to create a legacy project for the school, the “Hall of Fame” is designed to pay tribute to notable members of the Xavier community.

The Arrupe Group is formed every year from talented students who have contributed in a significant way to their group or club in the years leading up to senior year. Seniors are asked to sit on the board and come up with a project that could be a lasting contribution to Xavier’s community. Last year’s seniors created a social media collaborative project called “Humans of Xavier,” modeled after the notable Facebook page “Humans of New York.”

Josh DeVincenzo, former Student Government Association Vice President, is in the Arrupe Group for its second year.

“What we wanted to do was create some type of movement to the alumni of Xavier,” DeVincenzo said. “We have some important alumni, but not a place to showcase where they are and where they’ve been.”

The new student space, planned to replace the bookstore in the GSC, is the spot of choice for this project. “We talked to the same company that did Moeller high school’s ‘Hall of Fame.’ They can create anything from a mural to trophy cases for us,” DeVincenzo said.

The concept for the project is to highlight what this university has to offer in terms of legacy.

“We want to create something where students who go here and students who visit here can walk through the space and look at the pictures of people who have come here and done great things, and we want them to say, ‘That can be me,’” DeVincenzo said.

“‘Humans of Xavier’ was awesome,” DeVincenzo said. “But it sort of halted after the seniors that created it left. Our group wanted to come up with something where all the legwork is done once and the effects are lasting.”

“We’re still thinking about what kind of guidelines would go into being featured in our project, but the result will feature people that have made serious achievements in their work after they graduated,” DeVincenzo said.

Should the project come to fruition, it will occupy the space reserved for students in the GSC coming next fall.

“I like to think that at the end of it, there will be a mirror so students can literally stand there and envision themselves among the number of people being remembered,” DeVincenzo said.