Grand Reunion gathers graduates under big tents

By Annie Cheung

For a campus filled with teenagers and twenty-somethings, it came as a shock to students for the campus to be overtaken by a much older crowd this past weekend.

Over 2000 alumni visited the Santa Clara campus this past weekend for the Grand Reunion, bringing graduates from ten different classes together at once.

While there have been four previous occasions where ten classes gathered together at once, this weekend's event for alumni was the first of its size and kind in the past six or seven years, according to Kathy Kale, the executive director of alumni relations.

"We were hoping for about 1600 or 1700 people, had reservations for 2500, and I think we actually had about 2300," she said.

In past years, Santa Clara has hosted multiple smaller reunions annually throughout the year. This event, which spanned from Oct. 15 till Oct. 18, was specifically for Santa Clara graduates from years ending in 4 and 9, but it was open to all interested alumni.

The Office of Alumni Relations plans to do larger reunions like this one once a year, with this Grand Reunion being the prototype.

Over the long weekend, there were various activities across campus for the alumni to reconnect with each other and the school. These included academic programs, a 5K Bronco run, class dinners, family picnics, a Last Lecture presentation by Mick McCarthy, S.J., a global health panel with students and faculty, campus tours, a golf tournament, sporting events and more. Alumni also gathered to hear fellow alumna Janet Napolitano, '79, speak in Louis B. Mayer Theatre.

The budget for the large event was comprised of the combined budgets for what would have been the multiple smaller reunions as well as a university contribution.

"The university made an investment so we could do it right," said Kale.

John Spieth, assistant director of alumni relations, said that the diversity of events created the opportunity for alumni to reconnect with the Santa Clara community.

Favorites among the events included the wine tasting reception on Friday evening at the Ignatian lawn and the class reunion parties, which were held on Saturday evening under tents in Mission gardens and the lawn in front of Kenna Hall.

Alumnus Walt Townsend of '75, enjoyed that many of this year's reunion events were held in the middle of campus. "I remember the atmosphere around Mission Church and Mission Gardens, so I liked that the events were held right at the heart of campus," he said.

Townsend's wife Laura, '74,was grateful for the opportunity to return to the campus, where she graduated and also got married. "There is something about Santa Clara that you just have to be here to understand," she said.

The only negative comment the couple had about the weekend was about Friday's Italian luncheon. "The food was not good and it was too pricey," they said.

However, the Townsends agreed that overall the reunion was a well planned event. "You can tell that the people who put the event on somehow understood what it meant to us," said Walt Townsend.

One aspect that Kale was very proud of was the diversity of places from where alumni had traveled to come to the Santa Clara reunion. "We had people from all over: Chicago, Alaska, Nicaragua, Tuscan, Tahoe, everywhere," she said. "We even had a guest from Italy."

Maggie Rodee May, '89, traveled all the way from Vicenza, Italy to take part in the Grand Reunion. "I've been trying to stay connected through Facebook, but it is great to come back and see people firsthand," she said.

Many of the alumni enjoyed the reunion because it allowed them to remember what Santa Clara meant to them. Alum David Sarnowski of '74 said, "We have all hit on hard times, but we get out of those hard times, and we do it ethically because of what we have learned at Santa Clara."

Contact Annie Cheung at (408) 554-4546 or accheung@scu.edu.