On September 30th, over 250 Corban alumni stepped foot onto campus for the Alumni Homecoming.
Over the course of the weekend, alumni enjoyed going to the volleyball and soccer games, having meals in the dining hall with current students, and admiring the old photographs and yearbooks in the Alumni House.
Thursday night kicked off with a party at the Phoenix Inn. Nearly everyone who came stayed at the hotel, so event coordinator Wills turned the lobby into a huge party where anyone there was welcomed to join. “It was mostly people who were from the decade of the 50s and 60s there,” Wills said. “In fact, there were two ladies who hadn’t seen each other in over 40 years.” According to Wills, Corban’s Homecoming is all about “reconnecting friends, engaging, and inspiring alumni with their school.”
“On Homecoming weekend there are a variety of activities like class reunions which are done in 10 year increments.” Wills shared. The classes of ’71,’81, and ’91 had reunions during this homecoming. The activities even included the social groups, or affinity groups, such as the choirs. “This weekend we had a men’s singing group who called themselves the Mensingers which started in 1982. They hadn’t had a reunion, so we got them together to sing–men from 1982 never got to sing with someone from 1993 and didn’t even know each other.” This group of singers had their own reunion dinner on Friday night and sang at the President’s Luncheon on Saturday.
At the President’s Luncheon, all the Alumni joined together for an address from President Hoff, special musical presentation by the Mensingers and current Corban students, life stories from current students, and an awards recognition ceremony. This was a special time for people to hear what others had to say about Corban University and share stories together.
Phyllis and Ruthie, both students from Western Baptist, had not seen each other since the year 1971. Phyllis decided to attend Homecoming without registering, and she wasn’t sure if Ruthie would recognize her because of all the changes over the years. However, after a moment of looking at each other and remembering the good years when they had been friends, they shouted with excitement and shared a passionate hug. This was just one of the special moments that Corban’s Homecoming events made possible for past students.
“Some people have never been on this campus before, some were from the campus when it first started in Phoenix, then in Oakland and quickly outgrew that space and moved to El Cerritos, and then in 1969 moved to Oregon,” Wills said. Homecoming was an opportunity for the guests to tour this beautiful campus and admire it.
Throughout Homecoming weekend, visitors were reminded of the unity that Corban University brings to students both past and present. There were alumni who hadn’t seen each other since they graduated and got the chance to meet for the first time, and that in itself proved to be well worth the time they spent visiting Corban.