On New Year’s Eve, Saint Louis University sophomore Brigette Schutzman, a cross-country and track athlete, was involved in an automobile accident, which left her in a coma and with a broken pelvis. Schutzman’s doctors originally issued her a grim prognosis: a 1 percent chance of survival. Yet, she emerged from the coma after six weeks.

Her continuing recovery is miraculous; she may be able to run again by the end of June, according to a recent article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Schutzman’s family received a bit of financial assistance and a huge demonstration of support during the Saturday, April 26, Festival of Miles, held at SLU High. During the festival, more than 750 people raced to complete a mile in under four minutes, raising $9,000 for the Schutzman family, to help them bear Brigette’s medical bills.

Universities can seem crowded and impersonal at times. But the festival proved that the SLU community can unite for people, for real men and women, and not just material gains and construction updates. SLU athletics representatives, from track and field co-captain Laura Coyer to Head Soccer Coach Dan Donigan, as well as Jesuits, SLU students and distance runners from far and wide, gathered to celebrate running and Schutzman’s recuperation.

Volunteer runners paid $5 to chase down the dream of running the fastest mile in Missouri. Though the four-minute record was not broken, participants approached a greater goal: With voluntary charges for T-shirts and dinner, organizers raised enough to defray some medical bills. But the greater victory has nothing to do with money.

During the past four months, something good has blossomed from the depths of sorrow: In the aftermath of Schutzman’s suffering, the SLU community has learned to unite in a demonstration of love. We gathered our time, thoughts and resources for one of our own, one of our strongest.

Thank you, Brigette, for your strength, and the opportunity you’ve given SLU to come together.