St. Thomas raised more than $1,000 for the ALS ice bucket challenge on John P. Monahan Plaza Thursday afternoon, according to ALS Association of Minnesota.

Two hundred and eleven students participated in the ice bucket challenge that Campus Life organized. Participants lined up to form a U, S and T for the challenge.

“I am thrilled with the turnout today. It is absolutely remarkable and speaks volumes about the kind of community we have here at St. Thomas,” St. Thomas President Julie Sullivan said.

Junior Sarah Rae LaValle nominated Sullivan participated in the challenge.

“I nominated President Sullivan because I thought it would be a great way for her to be able to bond with the community at St. Thomas,” LaValla said.

LaValla said she had no close personal connection to ALS, but she still participated in the challenge and emphasized donating to charity.

“There’s no one I know really close to me that has ALS, but I believe that when we come together as this giant community, we can be a family for someone who’s affected by ALS,” LaValla said.

Bruce Kramer, former dean of the College of Education, Leadership and Counseling, was diagnosed with ALS in 2010. Kramer skyped all that were present at Monahan Plaza to show his gratitude for all of the support for ALS research.

Carol Bruess, communication and journalism professor, talked about how important Kramer was during his tenure at St. Thomas.

“It’s hard to put Bruce’s beauty and passion for learning into words, it really is. He’s one really unique guy,” Bruess said.

Bruess also discussed the nature of the community of St. Thomas, for showing its generosity that affects people worldwide.

“I think the bottom line it means our students care,” Bruess said. “They care about issues that might be important to them. They care about issues that are larger than them. They’re all around them.”

Jordan Kruger can be reached at krug6172@stthomas.edu.

Jesse Krull contributed to this report.