Some Safe Driving Weeks become part of a campus. At Syracuse University, this week has grown into a meaningful tradition rooted in memory, community, and the hope that young people will make safer choices behind the wheel.

Each year, Syracuse Safe Driving Week honors Hunter Watson and Vinny Maugeri, two students whose lives continue to be remembered with deep love. Their stories remain at the center of a week that invites students to pause, reflect, and take a pledge against distracted driving.

Hunter was a rising junior at Syracuse majoring in Information Management and Technology. He was drawn to computers, internet technology, and the growing world of data analytics, and he was already exploring ideas for web-based businesses and predictive analytics. He was also an athlete, a musician, and someone with wide-ranging interests. Hunter loved sports, played and followed many of them closely, and had a deep love of music that stayed with him throughout his life.

Vinny was a senior in Syracuse’s College of Arts and Sciences, studying Biology and planning to attend dental school. He was known for his kind nature, strong character, and the ease with which he connected with others. He loved his family, loved sports, and had a special passion for cars. Friends and loved ones remember him as someone people were naturally drawn to, a young man admired not only for what he did, but for who he was.

Syracuse Safe Driving Week begins with an annual candlelight vigil, creating space to remember Hunter and Vinny and the lives they lived. From there, the week reaches across campus, encouraging students to sign safe driving pledges and take part in conversations that can help protect others on the road.

The response has been powerful. In one recent campaign, more than 4,200 pledges were signed in support of safe driving. Tri Delta also helped lead fundraising efforts this past year, broadening the reach of the week and bringing even more students into the effort.

What makes Syracuse’s Safe Driving Week so meaningful is the heart behind it. This is more than a campus tradition. It is a way of remembering two young men who are still missed, still celebrated, and still helping guide others toward wiser choices.

Because of donor support, that tradition continues. Hunter and Vinny’s stories are still being shared, their lives are still being honored, and students at Syracuse are still being invited to choose care, focus, and responsibility every time they get behind the wheel.