Joyan Nolan and other Monroe Community College staff and alumni had a chance to walk the halls of the school’s original campus on Alexander Street last week.
Though the facility now is an apartment building, and many of the classrooms can’t be seen anymore, that didn’t keep alumni from reminiscing.
“It’s very nostalgic; I’m so excited,” said Nolan, who is one of the last current MCC staff members to have worked at the original building.
About 130 people attended the college’s reception honoring students from the 1960s on Thursday, July 29.
The college, which opened its doors in September 1962, moved to its current Brighton campus in 1968. Before it was home to MCC, the building was East High School. Today it is East Court Apartments.
MacClurg Vivian attended the college from 1962 to 1965 and studied liberal arts.
“I never thought I was going to go to college, and this school opened up down the street, it was affordable and somebody said, ‘you should go to school, you’re smart,’ so I did,” Vivian said. “It was one of the highlights of my entire life.”
Bob Vance, who graduated from MCC in 1964, said it was a unique experience being a part of a first-year college. Unlike at a four-year school, Vance said there were no seniors who had been there for three years.
“We got to set the whole school up, the clubs, the model, the colors, the student newspaper, the sports clubs,” Vivian said.
Vivian was a member of a service sorority, attended men’s soccer games and organized beer blasts after the games. She recalled the team winning the national championship in 1965.
Over the years, alumni from the college’s first few classes have remained close through reunions, holiday parties and other gatherings.
“I think the (MCC) Foundation does a great job to have these events,” Vance said. “It’s a place we all enjoyed being, so we enjoy reminiscing.”
Monroe Community College President Anne Kress said when the college first opened there were just over 700 students. Now, there are about 37,000 students enrolled annually.
“That says something about the quality of MCC and that the college is really doing something right in terms of serving the community,” Kress aid. “And to see where we started, that spirit of community is still alive at MCC, which bodes well for our future.”
The alumni are also impressed with how the college has grown from what they started 48 years ago.
“You look at the campus out in Brighton and think of all the buildings, all the different things they teach, how they’ve grown and #expanded, it’s just mind-boggling,” Vance said.
