It's hard to believe so much time has passed but this weekend was my 10 year college reunion at St. Mary's. Neal had never been to the campus or to the Bay Area so it was a trip we both very much looked forward to. Not as many people showed up to the reunion as I would have hoped, but it was great to see those who did, to see some familiar faces and catch up on the last 10 years.
Downtown Walnut Creek at night
We arrived late Friday night and had a midnight
burger at the diner down the street from our hotel.
This was a great place to hang out while in school.
It's an extremely charming little town with lots
of shops, restaurants, and night life.
Driving up to the small town of Moraga,
where St. Mary's is located. It's a beautiful drive,
full of trees and woods. It almost feels like the
Pacific Northwest up here.
Entering the college
You can hike up to the cross on the hill, which
is a favorite student (and alumni :-)) activity.
SMC sign on the hill
Here we are standing at the beginning of the
hiking trail up to the cross, looking down at
campus. To the left of the road are upper class
dorms. The trail begins right at the back edge
of campus.
At the top of the hill, with the cross behind us
to our left and the campus in the valley below.
This view is breathtaking and was a great place
to come as a student, to reflect, to find peace, or
to just take a break from studying.
One of the most memorable parts of a St. Mary's
experience was the sound of the bells above the
chapel. I loved hearing them then, and to this
day the sound of chapel bells takes me back to my
college days.
The old "observatory" where astronomy
professors brought their students for class
assignments. Although I never took an
astronomy class I enjoyed sitting on the benches
looking up at the stars.
My second home - the SMC chapel
I spent a lot of time in here (and in the Campus
Ministry office next door) during my time as
a student. It was, and still is, a magical
place for me.
Since the school is set in the hills of a small town,
you do tend to see a lot of nature there. I can
remember driving up to campus seeing deer along
side the road and hiking up to the cross and seeing
cows in the hills. What I hadn't seen, which we
saw this weekend, was a giant raccoon running
around outside the buildings. He was so cute when he
jetted up this tree and poked his little face out
from the leaves.
My first dorm hall, Aquinas, from across
the quad
One of the biggest things that distinguishes a
St. Mary's education from other schools is the
collegiate seminar program. A required part of
the core curriculum, the grade for these classes
is based 70% on verbal participation, which
challenges even the most introspective student
to think critically on their feet and engage in
meaningful dialogue. We sat at round tables and
discussed the great books such as, "The Odyssey"
and "Dante's Inferno." During reunion weekend,
professors will continue to engage alumni in a lively
discussion by holding several seminar courses over
the weekend. I, of course, had to attend a class and
bring Neal along to give him the full SMC experience.
Our homework was "Veritas" and talked about what
makes a Catholic college truly Catholic. We had a
wonderful discussion with other alumni (some from the
class of '59!) and it reminded me why, among many reasons,
I chose this school. Alumni from various years talked
about how much the seminar program meant to them,
and how much it helped them in their lives both
personally and professionally. I couldn't agree more
and felt a unique sense of comrodery with these
other alumni who had experienced the same thing,
even if decades before me.
After class we went to mass, where I was
pleasantly surprised to see Fr. Sal back on campus.
Fr. Sal was the Director of Campus Ministry
in the late '90's and I have a lot of great memories
with him. He once drove a van full of us students
all the way down to L.A. for the Religious
Education Congress. On the way we had
mass in a park along the highway. He is a
great person with a big heart for the youth.
Back in college Gina and I joined a group that went twice
a month to Berkeley to cook for and eat with the homeless
at the Dorothy Day House. She has been lucky enough
to work at St. Mary's ever since we graduated.
Br. David and I worked together on the Campus
Pastoral Team, only he wasn't a brother back
then! It's fantastic to see that some of my
fellow graduates devoted their lives completely
to Christ.
Dinner at the Soda Center on campus
We sat with some of the students I knew from
both Campus Ministry and my Psychology
program.
Statue of St. John Baptist de laSalle,
on whose tradition the school was founded.
The words in this book describe everything
the school stands for. On the left page, it
says, "Let us remember that we are in the
holy presence of God." We said this before
every class, a tradition which I had almost
forgotten about. The professor would say,
"Let us remember," to which we would
respond, "that we are in the holy presence
of God." On the right page it says, "Live
Jesus in our hearts forever," which was
also a traditional saying often expressed.
You couldn't attend this school and not
feel the presence of God in some way. Having
taught at my old high school now and then
returning here to my old college, I see how
much it was a perfect continuation for me at
that time in my life - both academically and
spiritually. This school forever changed me and
became a part of who I am, and for that
I will always be grateful.
SAN FRANCISCO....
The next day we visited Neal's friend Mike, who
moved to San Francisco about a year ago. We were
so excited to tour the city, and in true San Francisco
fashion, the views were mostly fogged out. The tip
of the Golden Gate bridge in this photo was about
all we got to see of it on our tour, even though
we walked halfway across it.
The weather was cold (a 20 degree difference
from Moraga) but that didn't stop the
sailors from enjoying the day.
A view of the bottom of the Golden Gate Bridge
Neal and Mike
I had forgotten how scary some of these steep
San Francisco streets can be. They actually
made my stomach turn! It reminded me of a
funny memory when I took a friend of mine
sight-seeing in college in my little 4-cylinder
manual car, and it barely made it up one of
these hills in first gear. When we got to the top,
smoke poured out of my front hood, the engine
overheating from the work of one hill! I'd never
been so scared driving in my life.
The infamous Lombard Street
While I left on Sunday night, Neal stayed on
an extra day to have some guy time with Mike.
They went on a beautiful hike to Muir Beach,
just on the other side of the Golden Gate.
