Gregory Fitzgerald, the tallest unofficial member of the Kean campus family, is what some would call a showstopper. He never really attended any classes or even left his usual hang-out spot; in fact, until now, not many on campus could claim to know where he came from. Now, almost three weeks since his Thursday, January 20, 2011 appearance, only "traces" of his presence are left for students and staff to remember.Kean University's first full "snow day" was not a day off for all students; some, instead, put the carpe diem aphorism into practice and "seized the day". The result was the construction of the nearly eleven-foot tall student-made snowman. The team responsible for the creation of "Gregory" include Dan Beir, a freshman mathematical sciences education major; Joseph Celentano, a freshman science and technology major with chemistry concentration; Alison DiGiacomo, a junior elementary education, bilingual option major; Ellesa Effner, a freshman science and technology major with mathematics concentration; Harvey Minano, a freshman biology major, physical therapy-track; and Maria Yousef, a freshman science and technology major with mathematics concentration.

The remains of "Gregory", who now stands on his literal "last leg" sits on the Cougar's Green, in the center of the main campus between Townsend Hall and the Maxine and Jack Lane Center for Academic Success (CAS).

Beir and DiGiacomo brought their shared idea of building a snowman to their friends. The team, all of which are resident students, considered a potential home for their snowman to be located in the residence "quad area"- the area on the Kean University main campus which covers the distance between the four structurally-uniformed upperclassman buildings: Bartlett Hall, Burch Hall, Rogers Hall, and Sozio Hall. However, since snow clean-up was already in full effect in that area, Beir decided to utilize the Cougar Green as "Gregory's" home.

The mission, according to Beir, was approximately a two-hour feat. Some of the Kean spectators may wonder how such an enormous construction was possible.

"The ramp," said Beir, smiling. "This is my original idea; not patented yet, but still mine," he continued with a laugh. Beir instructed the team to sculpt a study ramp made of snow to transport the larger balls of snow making up Gregory's body and head. For an aesthetic finish, the team used broken chips of cement for Gregory's eyes, two large branches for arms, a short, stout stick for a nose, and finally a curved stick to create a smile.

This snowman marks Beir's third "giant snowman" project and "Gregory" is by far the largest of them yet. Beir has even received recognition near his home in Blairstown, NJ for one of his projects. A local newspaper thought the end product was so remarkable that a story was published on it.

In pure winter fashion, the Gregory Team celebrated their project's completion with hot chocolate back in the residence halls. Congratulations! The campus looks forward to the possibilities of more winter surprises and crowd-stopping awes.