John Abbott College (JAC) is celebrating its 46th anniversary by trying something new.
This year they are testing how a homecoming celebration would fair among current students and alumni.
Director general John Halpin will be leading the college during its 50th anniversary in 2020 and a homecoming celebration where sports are at the forefront, is but one possibility of how to mark the event.
“If you look at John Abbott College, a lot of people would say the whole campus has an Ivy League look,” Halpin said. “At some point we said Ivy League schools all have a nice homecoming so why don’t we just steal, shamelessly, use the concept and see what happens.”
Celebrating milestones is an important part of keeping JAC’s legacy alive.
The upcoming 50th anniversary would be a chance to reconnect with alumni, but also a way for current students to be part of something with history.
“If we don’t reconnect with all the graduates, what are we celebrating,”asked Halpin. “The 60,000 students that have come through John Abbott should feel welcome and the people who’ve worked here and devoted their lives to the college should feel welcomed to come back.”
George Wall spent 27 years as an administrator and volunteer football coach at JAC. To have a chance to come back to a place where he dedicated so much of his life is opportunity he can’t pass up.
“I was the first physical education guy, the first athletic director, the first coordinator of student services,” Wall said. “It was quite an interesting time at Abbott and I loved it.”
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On Saturday the JAC Islanders football team faced off against the Outaouais Griffons. The Islanders ended up losing the game 2-23, but it was a special day nonetheless.
During the halftime break of the football game, JAC honoured two of the so-called “White House Runners” who ran from Montreal to Washington, D.C. in an effort to raise awareness of the Terry Fox Foundation in United States.
Akshay Grover, Aidan Yardley-Jones, and two other teammates raised over $13,000 in the process.
Grover credits his JAC cross country running coaches for improving his abilities.
Halpin presented sweaters to Grover and Yardley-Jones at center field.
“I think they’re making a pretty big deal out of it,” said Grover. “I’m fine with not being honoured, but I mean it’s nice but I don’t think it’s necessary.”
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