Alumni E-News

October 2019

Alumni Weekend 2019

The weekend started on October 18, 2019, with Convocation in the chapel for the current Academy students. The senior class, the class of 2020, led in the school song and the pledge of allegiance. Jeannie Leiterman, AA Principal, welcomed everyone to convocation. Bud Cason (’55) presented the Convocation Address. He is an amazing story teller, keeping the attention of the students as he retold various fond memories of the Academy and how it impacted his life.

After Convocation, the students went to various classrooms to participate in Career Seminars. One group actually went to an AA alumnus robotics engineer’s business for their seminar (click here for a video on Facebook). Based on their interests, students were able to attend two career presentations of their choice. This is a great opportunity for students to explore possible career choices as Andrews Academy alumni shared insights about their careers. Some presenters were able to bring items allowing students to participate in the presentation. They also shared how through our careers we can be serving God and leading others to Him.

This is the second year of also having a Career Fair as part of Friday's events. The gymnasium was full of booths helping to explain more about various careers, many of which had interactive activities. Booths were represented by various departments from AU, the community, and alumni.

Vespers

Friday night's Alumni Weekend Vespers (October 18, 2019) was presented by Andrews Academy Class of 2000. This class was known for their singing as they led out in chapels when they were students. They continued their tradition as Sarah (Woolf) Canada, Kimberly (Weber) Spare, and Richard Parke led out in singing for vespers this alumni weekend. Eileen (Vega) Spruill had opening prayer, and David Canada had the closing prayer. The class invited Pastor Glenn Russell, former AA Bible teacher, to present the worship thought, entitled, Trying to Hold on to Faith in the Midst of a Cynical World. By retelling the story of Joshua and Caleb and the Children of Israel found in Numbers 13-14, he reminded listeners that the Lord is with us, and we should not be afraid. Despite our cynical world, our faith can be strong in Jesus. (Click here for a video of vespers.)

Sabbath School & Church

Alumni Sabbath School began at 10 AM Sabbath morning (October 19, 2019) in the chapel. It was an inspirational presentation of tributes interspersed with music. Through their tributes, presenters (including Jim Row '57) shared how Jesus used the faculty and experiences of Andrews Academy to change their lives. Honor Classes were recognized by having each class stand. In some cases, the honored classes were asked to come to the front of the chapel to be recognized. For example, the class of 1970, which was celebrating their 50 year reunion, was presented gifts.

Alan Anderson was honored as Teacher of the Year for his 43 years of teaching at AA. Lynda Popp Swanson (’70) was honored as Alumna of the Year. (Click here for a video of Sabbath School.)

Current faculty and a number of AA students led in children’s church. After singing, the leaders acted out a Bible story. Squeals of delight could be heard from the children, as they not only learned the story but also experienced the story! Before and after the story, the children worked on craft projects.

While the children were in the library, the worship service (planned by the Class of 1995) occurred in the Academy chapel. A powerful sermon was presented by Pastor Jonathan Bilima. Other alumni from the class that participated in the service included Ethan Jones (invocation), Martha (Macey) Daggett (special music), Michelle (Spangler) Hamel (scripture), and Heidi (Kunitz) Ray (prayer). The current Silhouettes invited alumni to join them in singing When I Survey The Wondrous Cross. It was great to see a number of families with two generations of alumni singing together. (Click here for a video of the church service.)

Following the worship service, a haystack meal was provided for the alumni. This was another good opportunity for classmates to reunite and share what has happened in their lives since graduation and remember experiences from Academy years. Many shared how much of a positive impact Andrews Academy had on their lives. During lunch, each of the honored classes had their photo taken.

Shydepoke

The traditional Shydepoke flag football game of alumni weekend occurred at the AU field on October 19, 2019. The female AA alumni and the female AA students game was won by the alumni 6 to 0. The alumni took an early lead in the game and kept the lead.

The male AA alumni and the male AA students game was very exciting, with the alumni taking the initial lead and keeping the lead. It was very close throughout the game. The alumni won the game 19 to 12. Everyone had a lot of fun on a perfect evening for a football game.

The Doug Newberry most valuable player award went to Sam Taylor, and the Lydia Chong most valuable player award went to Lizzy Lubbert. These awards are named after two PE teachers from the 1980s.

Some Shydepoke history: In 1960, the Andrews Academy Shydepoke tradition began when Knobby Mauro was principal. At that point, there was only one game for the males. In the 1980s, the female and then male games became a tradition. The name “Shydpoke” was chosen, a term from the south meaning a “get-together social event.” Also during the time Mauro was principal, a challenge was presented to the students to come up with a name for the school teams. Gordon Johns, from the Class of 1966, came up with the name “Acumen.” His goal was to scan the dictionary for a unique and meaningful name and only got to the “ac” of the dictionary when he came up with this name. The acumen name means “the ability to make good judgments and quick decisions, typically in a particular domain.” He won a $10 prize for this.

Besides these main events, various honored classes had their own special gatherings as a class to reconnect with classmates. We hope that each of you who attended this weekend had an enjoyable and blessed time! 

Start planning now for next year's reunion weekend, October 16-17, 2020, where we will be honoring classes ending in 1 or 6. If you are a member of a class ending in 1 or 6 and would like to be involved in reaching out to your class to encourage them to attend and/or helping to plan the weekend, please reply to this emailwith your name and what class you belong to. We will also need Career Seminar presenters as well, typically from the honor classes. We would appreciate your help in contacting your classmates. Please continue to keep Andrews Academy in your thoughts and prayers.

Welcome, Class of 2019!

Another school year has come and gone, and it's time to welcome our newest alumni - the AA Class of 2019!

Ten out of this class of 68 students had a parent (or both parents) that also attended AA. More than $3.1 million in scholarships was awarded to this class. They have a bright future ahead of them!

2019-20 AA Faculty & Staff

Front Row, L to R: Carrie Chao, Elsy Gallardo-Diaz, Ivonne Segui-Weiss, Jeannie Leiterman (principal), Marah Silvestre, Gracie Gaytan, Rebecca Wright

Middle Row: Alvin Glassford, David VanDenburgh, Mario Ferguson, Marcelo Martins, Gina Pellegrini, Linda Sanford, Christine Rorabeck, Gina Meekma, Esther Penn, Sam Mills

Back Row: Steve Atkins, David Sherman, Chris Steeves, Richard Wright

2019-20 AA Family

Out and About at Michigan Camp Meeting

Principal Jeannie Leiterman was at Michigan Camp Meeting in June 2019, greeting alumni while giving out hand fans and sno-cones. Some of the alumni that she saw are pictured above.

Clockwise, starting with top left: Jeannie with Ardith Doering Tait ('49); Roy Benedict ('61); Christopher Alger ('90) & Family (his grandmother, Donna Wheeker (not pictured), was a librarian at AA); Reggie Swensen ('79); Rebekah Hilliard Cho ('01) with Sarah Woolf Canada & David Canada ('00).