IT IS indeed a puzzle why it took this long for the alumni of Corpus Christi High School to come together and form an alumni association. Established in 1975 as the former Little Schoolhouse, the high school founded by Alfonso and Cora del Fierro has produced graduates from close to twenty batches that have since left its portals. Many of these young men and women now occupy important positions in the public and the private sector in the City of Cagayan de Oro and beyond.
Perhaps, these professionals, shaped by the dedicated teachers of the school who nurtured and mentored many of the alumni from grade school to high school, were still busy forming families and making a dent in their respective fields in the intervening years. There is also the phenomenon of reverse migration where a sizable number come back with their families or relocate the practice of their profession to our beloved hometown either from Manila or abroad. A critical mass of returning migrants has since been formed calling the City their beloved home again over the years.
Many years later, it seems that time has given the ultimate imperative for a few well-meaning individuals to spearhead efforts in gathering alumni from the first seven pioneering batches of Corpus Christi High School. In the past couple of months, representatives from batches 91 to 97 have been meeting to plan for the first grand alumni homecoming this coming December 27, 2018. As a kick-off activity for this event, a pre-homecoming party is planned to coincide with the Foundation Day celebration of the school this October 26, 2018 at Chimmys Chicken Restobar, 8 p.m.
There are plenty of reasons why alumni should come together and gather and one of these is the joy that reunions provide. It is understood that each respective batch has been meeting with great regularity over the past several years on their own. This year marks the 25th year since Batch ‘93, the batch I proudly belong to, since left the school’s portals and we will be having our own special reunion this coming December 8, 2018.
But high school life does not revolve only in a single batch and actually includes a whole cast of characters of underlings and upperclassmen and women. Many of these became org mates, co-varsity team members, fellow dazers and seekers, and basically friends in that small tight-knit community but have become out-of-touch with each other over the years. To see them again and exchange stories about our past, present, and future selves is sure to be a hoot especially when these are shared over cold beer and hearty unlimited laughter.
This is already a good enough cause to stage the first ever grand alumni homecoming but there is an even deeper and meaningful logic to coming together formally to form an alumni association and harness what we are discovering to be the common features of the Corpus Christi Alumni spirit, initial insights of what could be the Corpus Christi Alumni DNA.
In the short occasions we have been able to update ourselves about the activities of each batch during these preparatory meetings, we discover certain common tendencies across all batches: 1) there is love, gratitude, and appreciation of our shared experiences in high school; 2) we have maintained strong bonds among our batchmates and have tried to be there for each other in times of need, and lastly; 3) we have the shared desire to use this strong solidarity among ourselves to further make a positive impact to our Alma Mater and the larger community.
I believe these emergent features of the Corpus Christi Alumni spirit can be strengthened and maintained through the establishment of an alumni association where the solidarity we enjoy among our batchmates can be harnessed and shared to all who pass through our Alma Mater’s portals. It is like rekindling and expanding the fire of that old tight-knit community we used to have and use this rediscovered social capital to effect positive impact. Imagine the effect if we can evolve these practices of solidarity from our respective batches to the larger Corpus Christi alumni community.
The title of the upcoming event this October 26, 2018 is more than apt, not only because it indicates our age but it symbolizes the coming together of a once disjointed and autonomous Corpus Christi alumni spirit of the batches into one solid community under the soon-to-be-established alumni association. Corpus Christi Alumni, let’s volt in!