Party All Weekend Long!!!!

There are many reasons for why I love being a part of the Student Alumni Association on campus. We work on so many amazing projects and events. This weekend can easily be marked as one of my favorite reasons for being involved with this group. This past weekend was Reunion weekend and the 50th Reunion for the amazing class of 1963! We helped out at so many different events that were all a part of this weekend’s celebration. I did not get to attend every single event on the itinerary, but I will highlight my favorite ones.

Friday was not beautiful day weather wise.  It was windy and rainy through the entire day and night, but that did not stop Reunion-ers from attending the awesome 80's dance that was being held in the pub that night. There were animal print balloons, streamers, banners, an 80's DJ, the electric slide, crazy conga lines and many moon walkers. Michael Jackson definitely would have been proud. Professor Nancy Fallon and her husband were dominating the dance floor all night along with her partners in boogie crime: Corey and Eric Bruschett, Pedro Suncar and Stefanie Seslar. Some popular moves like the lawnmower, shopping cart, and the sprinkler all made an appearance. A new kind of dance that I am not too sure how well it works, but was fun in the moment, was born that night. We were "making a pizza". It's quite simple. First, you have your dough that you twirl in the air for a bit. Once it is perfectly rounded, you open the oven door (from the top) and then put the pizza inside (on the bottom). That must be one huge oven that the pizza goes on the bottom rack. The party went from 7 until 10 and, boy oh boy, can those 80's grads really party! They all seemed to be having such an amazing time just catching up and dancing and talking. We all went out afterwards and braved the rain in the name of a Froyo World celebration for a job well done!

 Saturday was a gorgeous day! The sun was shining. The sky was a perfect blue and the birds were singing. Our day started off with registration at 10am in the BCR. I feel so honored to have been surrounded by so many Albertus Magnus College alumni. There are more than I honestly thought there to be. The alumni spent a lot of time visiting their old haunts on campus. Many more people stayed in Dominican Hall than I realized. So many stories were told about the old cafeteria that once resided inside the dorm right after it had been bought from Yale.  Dominican Hall was officially opened as a dorm in the 1960's and many of the alumni were surprised by the changes they saw. One woman and her husband were waiting for the elevator and I recommended she take the stairs because they are definitely quicker. She just laughed and said, "I want to see if it is as slow as I remember". I could not help but laugh with her. It would not be Dominican Hall if the elevator was any less like the tortoise in that old fable. Then again, the old adage "Slow and steady wins the race" has been proven many times. I always wondered about that, but I digress. To coin a popular, Dr. Yeaman phrase, "Things that make you go hmm...." I had fun talking with them and reminiscing about their days of living inside Dominican Hall. Many of them were able to show me all the rooms they lived in back then.

My absolute favorite and proudest moment to take part in was the Golden Society Inductions for the class of 1963 in celebration of the 50th year as a graduate from Albertus Magnus College. This ceremony was led by the Alumni Association as they handed out certificates of loyalty that resembled diplomas and pins with the college seal and "Golden Society" on them. One of our very own, Dr. Joan Venditto, Department of Education Chair here at Albertus was honored as a part of this class. As all the names were called, I thought to myself that the grandchildren and children of these wonderful women should be extremely proud. My grandparents never went to college, but this is an amazing thing to be able to celebrate. Can you imagine? 50 years as a college grad and not just any college, but Albertus Magnus College. It made me really think about the mark I intend to leave on this college when I graduate in two years and how I am going to represent Albertus in the years after that. I teared up a little during "Alma Mater" as it was led by choir instructor Arthur Bellucci. I had never heard it sung before, but it was beautiful. I teared up a little during one part in particular.

Alma Mater, Alma Mater

Magic in thy ageless power.

Constantly fostering your spirit

Moves beside us every hour.

When the present is an echo

 In the hearts that from you came,

Songs of youth and friendship embers,

Will rekindle at your name.

This whole verse and then the beautiful refrain just struck something inside me. It reminds me that this is the place to be young because these are the moments we will call upon when our futures start to weigh on us.

It really was amazing how many of them remembered the melody enough to sing along. After 50 years, I might forget; then again I might not. There never was a dull moment at this event. How could there have been?! We, as present day students of Albertus Magnus College, were connecting with the faces of our futures. One day we will replace this 50th anniversary class and those students will be looking up to us and so on. It is a legacy that can never die and with another 50 years of Albertus alum, our Alma Mater will reign forever.