From Alumni Awards to Art Exhibitions: Gordon Homecoming 2024 in Review 

On October 4-5, 2024, Gordon College students, families, faculty and alumni gathered over the sunny autumn weekend to celebrate Homecoming together. The atmosphere was festive, with food trucks by the Quad, athletics events and La Vida’s Giant Swing. It was also a time of recognition and celebration, marking the first Homecoming to take place since Gordon’s seven new schools were announced earlier this year.  

Honoring Outstanding Alumni  

Friday evening at the Homecoming Alumni Awards, Anan Copty ’94 won Alumni of the Year for his work to create noninvasive cancer treatments and his desire to build bridges across cultures and religions through business. Author and former First Lady of Gordon College Jan Carlberg was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her decades of service to Gordon College and her loving, creative impact on the Gordon community. Other awards presented during the event included Young Alumni of the Year (Florecita Mejía ’08), the A. J. Gordon Missionary Service Award (Erin Thompson Nehre ’01) and many others. 

Herschend School of Education Screens The Right to Read 

On Saturday morning faculty and students of the Herschend School of Education gathered in Gregory Auditorium to watch The Right to Read, a 2023 documentary about the low literacy rates in many public school systems, which affects vulnerable communities across America. The film illustrates that literacy is freedom and underscores the importance of the Herschend School’s nationally recognized work on the science of reading methodology. Gordon is the only school in Massachusetts to receive top recognition from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) and Accreditation Plus from the International Dyslexia Association for leading the way in evidence-based literacy instruction. 

A Reflective Alumni Poetry Reading 

Brad Davis ’76 and Scott Frey ’01 joined faculty, students and other visitors from the English program to enjoy a poetry reading. Davis read from his recently published collection, On the Way to Putnam: New, Selected & Early Poems, including pieces such as “Common as Air,” dedicated to his wife. His reading was a celebration and reflection of his career as a poet, which started when he was a student at Gordon.  

Following an introduction by Davis, Frey spent the second half of the hour reading from his first published poetry collection, Heavy Metal Nursing. Before he started Frey announced that his book centers around his eldest daughter’s short life and death. “It’s going to get deep, but we’ll go there together,” he said. The audience was quiet and reflective, and Frey’s vulnerability brought some to tears. 

A Celebration of Art in Barrington 

Following the dedication of the Adams School of Music and the Arts on Friday, the traveling exhibition “Marc Chagall and the Bible” opened in the Barrington Art Gallery. Chagall (1887-1985) famously combined his Jewish heritage with his art to explore biblical themes. The galleries at Barrington are currently filled with his etchings and lithographs that depict stories and images from the Bible, including the Crucifixion. Taylor Worley, associate professor at Wheaton College, gave a talk in the afternoon to open the exhibition, reflecting on the symbols, visual memory and imagination found in Chagall’s pieces. The exhibition runs until December 14, 2024. 

Soccer Games on the Quad 

For some Homecoming sports entertainment, Gordon hosted two soccer games on the freshly manicured lawn in front of Jenks Library. Both the Men’s and Women’s Soccer teams played matches against Roger Williams University. The women played first, led out onto the field to a tune played on the bagpipes, in keeping with Gordon tradition. Roger Williams scored first, but Gordon came back with a goal by Eowyn Lapp ’27 (kinesiology) to end the game in a 1-1 tie.  

The following Gordon Men’s Soccer match was exciting, with a lot of back-and-forth between the teams. Gordon came out victorious in the end with a final score of 3-2. Sophomore Luke Lindas ’27 (business management) scored the first and last goals of the game, and Benny Simpson ’26 (international affairs) scored a goal right in the middle of the game for a total of three. 

Lewis Hall Reunion 

Toward the end of the day on Saturday, former Lewis Hall residents gathered in Jenks Library to reminisce about the days they spent living in Lewis. The beloved residence hall was cleared away earlier in the fall to make way for new developments at the College. Homecoming visitors were able to buy bricks from the original building and old Lewis room keys as mementos. It was clear that Lewis was a place of exceptional community and will be treasured in the hearts of many for years to come.  

What Homecoming is All About 

From reunion dinners to recurring events like the Scot Trot 5k, this year’s Homecoming weekend was a time to enjoy the legacy of Gordon and its beloved traditions. But it was also a time to look forward to the future and the good changes that are to come, from the dedication of new schools to making room for new buildings on campus. Like the sunshine that came out after a drizzling morning, the weekend marked hopeful promise for Gordon’s future and all the lives the College continues to touch.  

By Emily Jones ’24, English language and literature and Reagan Forbes ’24, communication arts