Two-hundred-fifty Iona students marched into Mulcahy Athletics center on Tuesday to celebrate the life and legacy of Blessed Edmund Rice.

Rice, who founded the Congregation of Christian Brothers in 1802, would have been 250 this year. In 1940, the Congregation of Christian Brothers founded Iona College.

About midway through the ceremony, college President Joseph E. Nyre went on the stage to speak about Edmund Rice and to present “The Proof is in the People Awards,” honoring those members of the Iona community who had gone above and beyond the normal call of duty during Hurricane Sandy.

The first award went to Nairobi Contreras and the Chartwells team for keeping all the students fed during the storm and its aftermath.

Director of Safety and Security Dominic Locatelli and the rest of the Department of Campus Safety and Security received the second award for keeping the Gael Express as operational as possible. The third award went to Mark Murphy and Facilities for maintaining the generators on campus and making sure everyone else had enough power to do their jobs. The fourth and final award went to the Resident Assistants, Director of Residential Life Carllos Lassiter, Vice Provost for Student Development Charlie Carlson and the Residential Life team for everything they did to help students who were in the residence halls during the storm.

“I think it was appropriate that they used this as an opportunity to thank people for their efforts during Sandy because it’s true- during hardship, you can see the true Iona spirit,” senior Christina Grafstein said.

Others agreed.

“It was nice to be recognized,” said junior Resident Assistant Bridget Rhode, and it was easy to see how much all of the people who were awarded were appreciated by the heartfelt applause and standing ovation that followed the presentations.

Awards weren’t the only thing that happened at the event – there was also a birthday celebration.

Before the event started, a slideshow presentation featured significant places from Edmund Rice’s life in Ireland.

The celebration was kicked off with a procession of students, each wearing a shirt with a number on it. The numbers went from one to 250, representing each year since Edmund’s birth. The students carried electrical candles as they walked in to the song “Chariots of Fire.”

Edmund Rice Society President and senior Andrew Hastings explained that the candles represented Edmund Rice’s light and legacy. They also doubled as birthday candles.

A short dramatic presentation of Edmund Rice’s life through prayer was performed by senior Brian Sears as Edmund and Iona alumna Maureen McNulty as the narrator. Senior Alanna Chan performed a reflection through dance shortly after.

Toasts were also given to Rice and his legacy by representatives of The School of Arts and Sciences, the Hagan School of Business, the staff and administration, the student body, alumni and the Christian Brothers of North America.

At the end of the celebration, there was a short prayer for the canonization of Edmund Rice. This was followed by the singing of three different versions of “Happy Birthday,” one played by the Iona College Pipe Band, one sung by freshman Megan Traynor and then, finally, one sung by all of the attendees.

After all of the singing was finished, Nyre cut the birthday cake and a reception was held.