University Libraries’ Cheesy Nights earns CASE honors for service and community
What began 15 years ago with a borrowed griddle and three volunteers has grown into an award-winning finals-week tradition serving thousands of Hokies each semester.
University Libraries’ Cheesy Nights received two 2026 Circle of Excellence Awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE): Gold in the Volunteer Engagement category and Silver in the In-Person Multiday Events category.
The national recognition honors an effort that brings volunteers together to provide students with food, encouragement, and a sense of community during one of the semester’s most stressful periods.
Cheesy Nights began in 2011, when Therese Walters, wife of University Libraries Dean Tyler Walters, and two teenagers set up a borrowed griddle in Newman Library’s second-floor commons. They handed out free grilled cheese sandwiches, snacks, and drinks to students studying for finals in the library.
Today, Cheesy Nights spans four nights during finals each semester. University Libraries in Alexandria also hosts a Cheesy Night for Virginia Tech students in the Washington, D.C. area. By spring 2025 finals, volunteers served close to 9,000 grilled cheese sandwiches at Newman Library.
Cheesy Nights is a volunteer-powered tradition. Families, alumni, faculty, staff, students, and community members prepare and serve food while offering encouraging words to students. For many Virginia Tech parents, volunteering at Cheesy Nights has become a bucket-list experience.
The event has also become a university-wide effort. Dining Services helps provide ingredients and supplies. Virginia Tech police officers volunteer, and athletics coaches have served sandwiches, including former head football coach Frank Beamer. University Advancement works with University Libraries to connect alumni, families, and other supporters with opportunities to give.
“What makes me happy about this event is the whole thing,” said Tyler Walters. “Everybody is engaged. Everybody wants to help students. Students are very appreciative of the food and encouragement from all of the volunteers and supporters. It lets them know that we all care about their well-being and success.”
Private support helps sustain the program. University Libraries began crowdfunding specifically for Cheesy Nights in 2022, with donations helping pay for supplies, sandwich ingredients, drinks, and snacks.
University Libraries’ Strategic Communications team also has helped give Cheesy Nights a recognizable identity through student-designed stickers and buttons, playful social media content, branded volunteer aprons, and one very large grilled cheese sandwich.
“The Big Cheese” was born after Therese Walters challenged student graphic designers to create a grilled cheese costume. Built from fabric, PVC pipe, pool noodles, tape, and suspender straps, the costume became a fixture at the event, greeting students waiting in line and posing for selfies.
CASE judges recognized that combination of creativity and community. In awarding Gold for Volunteer Engagement, judges praised Cheesy Nights for transforming “a simple act of service” into a meaningful campus tradition and highlighted its ability to engage parents, alumni, faculty, staff, and community volunteers.
Judges awarding Silver for the multiday event category cited its student-centered community building, collaboration, branding, and crowdfunding, noting that Cheesy Nights turns a stressful time into a tradition centered on encouragement, belonging, and well-being.
The scale of Cheesy Nights has changed dramatically since 2011. Its purpose has not.
Fifteen years after three volunteers plugged in a borrowed griddle, Cheesy Nights continues to provide students the food, encouragement, and support when they need it most. One sandwich at a time, its volunteers put Ut Prosim (That I May Serve) into practice.
