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La Sierra’s t-shirt giveaway draws crowds at GC Session
Canadian residents Shirley Colleolia and her husband, Robins Colleolia, pose in their newly acquired La Sierra University t-shirts at the General Conference Session in St. Louis on July 12.
Reina Zapata, left, and friend Lidya Gonie were among thousands of La Sierra University t-shirt recipients during the General Conference Session.
Joaquín Espinoza looks forward to wearig his La Sierra University t-shirt in the Dominican Republic.
La Sierra University President Christon Arthur converses with a father and daughter attending the general conference session.
A young attendee of teh 2025 General Conference Session displays his La Sierra University t-shirt. (Photo courtesy of William Chunestudy)
A line forms heading toward the La Sierra University exhibit booth where free university-branded t-shirts are being distributed. (Photo courtesy of William Chunestudy)
La Sierra University President Emeritus Larry Geraty presents a t-shirt to an attendee of the 2025 General Conference Session.
That evening, the university’s team hustled to meet the demand and handed out 1,100 shirts in under 30 minutes. It was the last of 7,500 shirts given out during the general conference session held between July 3 – 12. The first 5,000 shirts were distributed during the first weekend of the conference, depleting supplies far faster than organizers expected. Another 2,500 shirts were ordered and distributed during the session’s last two days.
"By the end of the second day, we had given out all 5,000 shirts. They were a huge success.” -- Brian Meert, Interim Vice President of Marketing
“We originally ordered 5,000 t-shirts because the last general conference had 20,000 attendees,” said La Sierra University Interim Vice President of Marketing Brian Meert. “We were planning for about 25% of the attendees getting a free shirt. By the end of the second day, we had given out all 5,000 shirts. They were a huge success.”
The general conference sessions of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination are held once every five years to elect church leadership as well as conduct business: constitutional and theological. Attendees of the nearly 23-million-member church arrive from around the globe. Adventist schools, healthcare organizations, ministries, Adventist media and other organizations display their offerings in an exhibition hall.
When the university marketing and enrollment team previously discussed plans for the university’s appearance at this year’s general conference (GC) session, ideas from the university’s appearances at past GC sessions were discussed as well as the most efficient ways to represent La Sierra University this year. According to Meert, “lots of wonderful ideas were discussed, but we made the decision to spend fewer resources on our booth so that we could give away high quality and very soft t-shirts that we believed GC attendees would find valuable and use well beyond the event.”
“The plan was to have a t-shirt that was so nice to the touch that people would wear it as soon as they got it,” said Sara Pinto da Silva, assistant vice president of enrollment services. “The goal was to flood the GC with La Sierra t-shirts and that was amply achieved.”
Aurora Yabut, second from right poses with friends Marie Rose and Agnes Austria along with Pastor Eliezer Barrientos in their La Sierra t-shirts. The group arrived from the Philippines to attend the general conference session.
A line forms leading to the La Sierra University exhibit booth where free university t-shirts were being given out. (Photo courtesy of William Chunestudy)
Reactions to the shirts from attendees who were perusing the Exhibition Hall the evening of July 12 supported the marketing team’s anticipated goals.
“I really wanted to have one because I saw the quality, and also because it's La Sierra University, and I heard some more people saying about it, it is a good university,” said Aurora Yabut. She, her friends and her church pastor, Eliezer Barrientos, arrived from the Philippines to attend the GC session. They each wore a La Sierra shirt received during one of the giveaways. Yabut said her children are no longer young, but she hopes her grandchildren might consider attending La Sierra in the future.
“I really wanted to have one because I saw the quality, and also because it's La Sierra University." -- Aurora Yabut, Philippines, General Conference Session attendee
“I’m interested in the t-shirt because I live in Canada, I can put the t-shirt [on] and make the marketing for the university,” said Shirley Colleolia, remarking on the quality of the shirt. She previously did not know about the university and acquiring the t-shirt allowed her to learn about the school, Colleolia said.
Lidya and Stenly Gonie and friend Reina Zapata sported La Sierra shirts as they toured the Exhibition Hall. They were able to acquire them at the beginning of the giveaway when the hall opened, they said, enabling them to avoid the crowds that formed later at the booth.
The Gonies wanted shirts they said because their daughter, Evangeline, is enrolling in La Sierra’s STEM program and was recently accepted into the university honors program. “We know that she’s going to be well taken care of,” Lidya Gonie said.
“I love it over there,” Zapata added, noting her visits to the La Sierra University Church and university connections as reasons for gravitating toward the La Sierra t-shirts.
“For me it is a nice memory of an Adventist university that I am now returning to my country." -- Joaquín Espinoza, Dominican Republic, General Conference Session attendee
Joaquín Espinoza of the Dominican Republic also wore a La Sierra tee while walking through Exhibition Hall. “For me it is a nice memory of an Adventist university that I am now returning to my country and I will keep in mind that we are in different Adventist places,” he said in Spanish before pausing for a photo.
Meert and the marketing team also designed the La Sierra exhibit booth for the GC session, which included multiple phone and device charging stations. Many attendees stopped at the booth to use the stations during their perusal of the convention center’s Exhibition Hall.
“It was inspiring and exciting to see so many people wearing the shirts in the convention center hallways." -- Christon Arthur, La Sierra University President
“People would stop by to charge their devices, and we would take the opportunity to talk to them about La Sierra and have them meet with the president and other booth reps,” Pinto da Silva said.
“It was an amazing experience to witness how popular the t-shirts were and how quickly they were distributed,” said La Sierra University President Christon Arthur. “It was inspiring and exciting to see so many people wearing the shirts in the convention center hallways throughout the week. We were exceedingly blessed by the talented work of Brian and his team with the t-shirts and the beautiful exhibit booth, and by our highly dedicated enrollment services staff.
Meeting so many people from so many places presented rich opportunities for discussing the transformational impact a La Sierra educational experience can have in a person’s life, as we help each student reach their potential,” he said. “It was a special privilege to connect with our Adventist family members from around the globe. We look forward welcoming all to campus: to study with us, to enjoy our public events, feast at our excellent vegetarian cafeteria, or just to stop by for a chat. We welcome everyone home to La Sierra.”
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