Hall of Saints to grow at Holiday Harvest Celebration Nov. 9

by Rachel Coleman

Seward County Community College continues its celebration of 50 years serving students with a Holiday Harvest Celebration and the induction of 15 members in the Hall of Saints for alumni. The event is set for Nov. 9 (a Saturday), from 2-4 p.m. in room SW229 in the Student Union on SCCC’s main campus. Gourmet, homemade pies, a hot beverage bar, and savory snacks will be served as we celebrate what college president, Dr. Ken Trzaska, describes as “our best and brightest achievement — our alumni.”

“Throughout the year, we’re shining the spotlight on Saints who have made the most of their education here at Seward County Community College,” Trzaska said. “It’s easy to envision that list of people as high-achievers who are often in the public eye, but we also believe in the power to change the world for good by working from the margins. There are graduates in all walks of life who do good work every day, and some portion of that is possible because they started at Seward.”

The 15 honorees at the Nov. 9 event are Mike Riney (1971), Betty Glenn (1971), Tommy Williams (1975), Martha Barr Darnell (1980), Kelly Kirk (1989), Elva Morales (1991), Ryan Farrar (1993), Jerri Lynn Lyddon (1993), Sheyvette Dinkens (2004), Jose Uriel Estrada (2004), Ashleigh Darnell (2007), Gricelda Estrada (2007), Alejandro Estrada (2007), Obdulia Covarrubias-Zambrano (2012), and Chin Hung Gregory Leung (2013).

The afternoon reception will include a brief ceremony to present the Hall of Saints members with their awards, followed by a casual, come-and-go reception for friends and family members to reconnect over pie and coffee.

“With Thanksgiving coming up and the weather changing, we wanted to host something cozy and intimate, but special,” said committee member Madelyn Sander. “This is the time of year when gratitude and connection are the focus.” And, she added, “there can never be enough pie.”

Inclusion in the Hall of Saints is based on completion of a degree or certificate from SCCC, including the former vocational-technical school in its various forms over the past 50 years; positive reflection on the college reputation while affiliated with the institution; high achievement in academics and professional pursuits; and contributions to the community. A total of 50 members will be inducted to the first Hall of Saints cohort of 2019-20, with members to be added in future years.

The process of selecting these exemplary Saints includes nominations from the public, suggestions from our SCCC team, and “going through a lot of old yearbooks and commencement programs,” said SCCC’s executive director of PR and marketing Rachel Coleman. “We definitely have to rely on the collective memory of people who have been part of the Saints family over the decades.”

With 25 more inductees yet to be added, the committee continues to solicit names, and encourages the public to take part.

Upon finalization of the Hall of Saints, photos of the honorees will be displayed on campus as a source of inspiration to current students.

For more information, contact the SCCC office of PR & Marketing at 620-417-1125. To access a nomination form, visit the PR webpage, scccnews.com.