When you go to college in a small town and the school is about the size of your graduating class in high school, (roughly around 600), your college experience is a little different than most. Going to Sterling wasn’t what I thought my future held; coming from a big town and feeling more comfortable in a larger area, I always thought that I would attend a bigger school, like the University of Kansas or even Baker University. However, there is one thing that 16-year old Cathryn didn’t account for: the truly tight-knit experience and loving community that comes with going to school in a town the size of your high school.
This couldn’t be more evident during the week of Homecoming.
Homecoming at Sterling is truly an amazing experience. Even if you aren’t on the football team, your week is going to be filled up with cool events and there is always an opportunity to help out and become involved.
The week kicked off Thursday, October 13th with an art show entitled “Through a Forgotten Lens,” showcasing newly-discovered World War II photography. Students, faculty, and alumni could walk around the art gallery and take a look at the breathtaking works. My favorite section was entitled “A High Price,” which showed photos of children and families who had been affected by the fighting, as well as the soldiers who paid the highest price of all. Looking into the eyes of children who had seen things that nobody should ever see was an unsettling, and yet very humbling experience.
After you enjoyed cookies and punch at the art gallery, you could make the 5-minute trek over to Culbertson auditorium, where opening night of the musical “Oklahoma!” was taking place. When there is a musical going on, you can guarantee that 75% of the campus is either sitting in those seats as the audience or up on the stage themselves. Going to a liberal arts college, where half of students are athletes and the other half are some sort of art majors, it’s always amazing to see the athletes coming out to support the art programs, and the art students will soon get their turn to do so as well this weekend.
Going to a Christian college, there must be Jesus somewhere in this weekend! Friday, October 14th kicks off the day with Homecoming chapel, where alumni and current students can come together and worship. It’s truly a unique experience because the current students are writing their own story of Sterling, while the alumni experienced the college very differently. However, it reminds us that, even if we are 50 years apart in age, we all have one thing in common: we are all Warriors and we are all brothers and sisters in Him.
Friday also gets the Warriors hyped with a pep rally in the upper gym of Wilson Hall, where the cheerleaders get to perform their new routines and students get to be excited about the spirit of the college and the spirit of the weekend.
The day is then packed full with alumni lunches, reunions, sports games, speeches, and campus tours. A person can then end the day with going to see the musical if they didn’t get the chance to go opening night or just want to see it again.
Saturday, October 15th, the Lady Warriors basketball team hosts a pancake breakfast at one of the local churches, which is much needed after the experience of the morning. A parade down Broadway, the main road of Sterling, that includes the dorms, clubs, and activities of Sterling College, as well as community members and businesses, helps the town come together in ways that a large university never could. It’s not just a time to serve the students of the College, but it is a way to give back to the town and let them be a part of everything that we do.
To then get ready for the big game, a Homecoming Hangout, serving lunch and allowing students, faculty and alumni to just talk, takes place on Cooper lawn, the main building of our campus. At 1:00 p.m. though, the crowd heads to Smisor Stadium, where the Homecoming coronation of the King and Queen will be taking place, and then, the low rumble of the stadium lets us know that our boys are about to take the field against their biggest rival, Bethel College. And we absolutely can’t wait.
The day then allows for more reunions, tours, and the alumni of the softball team even get a chance to swing their bats again at the local high school’s softball field. There is Ultimate Frisbee happening on Campbell lawn, the oldest dorm on campus and current men’s dorm with no A/C but a lot of character. Then the day ends with Homecoming dinner in the cafeteria. Another showing of Oklahoma! is also taking place.
Sometimes, going to a small school has its challenges. Having the nearest Taco Bell half an hour away from campus can make a girl antsy. However, the cons are constantly outweighed by the pros, and as hundreds of alumni flock our Homecoming weekend, it seems as if they agree.Sterling is a unique place full of community, fun, and support; not just from the school, but from the whole town, and, as cliche as it sounds, I can’t imagine spending my four years anywhere else. Happy Homecoming!
