Templeton’s 25th Anniversary Weekend began like all other weekends at the college: at 3:00 pm with an Honors Forum. Current students heard reflections from six alumni on vocation and how the Honors College shaped them. The forum went the full hour and a half, ending with lots of questions from the audience (which isn’t always how these Friday afternoons shake out). After dismissal, current students lingered for further conversation (again, not always normal on Fridays at 4:30pm). To the students, these six were sage guides with wisdom to share.
Later that evening, time with alumni continued, as we reconnected at La Cabra for a reunion. There were members of some of the earliest cohorts (2001, 2005) present, as well as some of the most recent graduates from the cohort of 2021. There were more alumni at this reunion than I had seen at any other, not to mention the increase in the number of children that were brought in tow with their parents. The reunion was noisy with the chatter of old friends catching up.
The Friday night reunion went late into the night. But those same alumni and their families were up early Saturday morning for the Templeton Hall open house. Guests of all ages were encouraged to explore every nook and cranny of this new home for the Honors College and attend seminars with “old” professors.
The final event in the Anniversary Weekend line up was the evening gala on Saturday night. At this formal dinner, gala guests heard three Templeton alumni speak about their time as students. One of these speakers was Dr. Amy Richards, a current Templeton professor and alumna of the first ever cohort.
When I came in with the cohort of 2016, the Honors College was saying goodbye to its current, beloved dean, and on the search for someone new. Over the last decade, courses were altered and courses were added; faculty retired and faculty were hired; and of course, Templeton Hall was finally built and finally opened. So much is different. Yet, alumni came from Kansas City, Phoenix, Boston, and Los Angeles to celebrate Templeton’s 25th anniversary. Alumni who have had years of distance from their time in Templeton showed up for the reunion, the open house, and even the evening gala (some of them with young children). Alumni have even come back to Templeton more permanently to teach and shape new cohorts of students.
Why?
From the outside, much has changed. But Templeton’s commitment to the pursuit of the Good, the True, the Beautiful, and the Holy remains as solid and central as it was 25 years ago.
That’s why we show up to Friday forums. That’s why we stay late at reunions. That’s why we’re still here.