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The annually held Alumni postponed until next fall
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March 11, 2021 ALUMNI Coming home Amid a frenzy of unprecedented circumstances, the Alumni Assocation has made the equally unprecedented decision to have Homecoming and Alumni Weekend simultaneously.
First, a tornado. Then, a pandemic. When Paul Genender ‘87 began his two-year term as the Alumni Association president on the first day of July 2019, nothing could have prepared him for the misfortune waiting in front of him. But by adapting to the circumstances placed upon him, Genender has carried through his term, following the many Alumni Association presidents before him. And a year and a half later, as Genender’s term nears its end, Genender and his team have continued striving for success despite all the adversity.
When a tornado blew through Preston Hollow and devastated parts of the campus in October 2019, many of the Alumni Association’s operations were greatly compromised. Once things were finally getting back to normal, the Alumni Association was hit with a second crisis.
“It was kind of the second big whammy because we thought we had recovered from the tornado that was in October of 2019,” Genender said. “The school obviously reopened quickly after that and events got back to normal and all that, but then, when COVID happened, everything went remote.”
Now, nearly a full year since students were sent online, the COVID-19 pandemic is still going strong. For Alumni Weekend, Upper School Head Colin Igoe decided that postponing it might help to preserve some of its traditional events.
“Ideally, for as many events as we can, we reimagine them, or if there are events that aren't on a specific timeline, we can postpone them until conditions improve,” Igoe said. “A good example is the [All-School] Christmas Party. That was reimagined, where the seniors and their buddies were outside, and other people could livestream the event.”
On account of various injuries to the community, Genender thought it would be wise to give the Alumni Association some time to reorganize themselves.
“We knew that there were a lot of people in the St. Mark's community who were really hurt, whether medically or economically, by the pandemic,” Genender said. “So it was just a confluence of things, and we had to recalibrate a lot of our efforts.” The postponement of Alumni Weekend to the fall placed it on the same weekend as
Homecoming. Igoe thinks this occurrence, though unconventional, could be a uniquely cheerful event. “It will probably just make a more joyful, proud event for our community,” Igoe said.
“It’d be fun to think about having alumni back, going through our usual rituals and traditions of that weekend but having all the more passion, excitement and school pride.” One of the biggest events of Alumni
Weekend is the Spring Alumni Dinner, where award-winners from the year are announced. “We've got a whole closet full of awards we’ve got to give out,” Genender said. “We announced the award winners last year, but we didn't get to give them out, and we have decided the award winners for this year, but those will be given out in the fall as well.” Among with many other moments such as speaker events, Alumni Board meetings, committee meetings, the Day of Service and
Holiday Luncheon, Genender missed out on yet another meaningful tradition at the end of last school year. With a son, Jack Genender, in this year’s Senior Class, Paul Genender hopes that the tradition will go differently this time around.
“The Alumni Board president gets to address the seniors right before graduation and officially welcome them to the Alumni Association, so I didn't get to do that last year,” Genender said. “That was a letdown. I'm hoping very much that I get to do those two things this year in person, given that this is a particularly special Senior Class for me.”
Although Genender found some benefits as a result of a shift to virtual meetings, he missed out on a part he used to enjoy with the members of his team.
“The meetings are great, but it's the 15 minutes before and the 15 minutes after when we're all kind of hanging out where the camaraderie is great,” Genender said.
Adapting to the circumstances has been a major part of Genender and his team’s success, something that they were quickly forced to get used to.
“We focused on what's going on around, the positives at the school and not the fact that it's virtual,” Genender said. “We're all shifting in so many different ways; this is just another one of them, and we all roll with it.”
Though the Alumni Association and the school have repeatedly faced difficult circumstances, Genender chooses to do whatever he can to help the community make it out on top.
“You have a choice,” Genender said. “You can make the best of it, or you can complain about it. As an Alumni Association, we've chosen to make the best of it.”
LASER LIGHTS Upper School students dance and celebrate to music accompanied by a light show at the 2019 Homecoming party. Now, with worries about health and safety, the administration has decided that events as crowded as this ought to be postponed or cancelled. Paul Genender ‘87 Alumni Association president DINING IN A large crowd of alumni packed into the Great Hall eat together at the 2019 Alumni Weekend. The inability to hold events like these has caused the administration to delay rather than cancel Alumni Weekend.
STORY Will Pechersky, Will Spencer PHOTOS Ekansh Tambe, Courtesy Dave Carden GRAPHIC Will Spencer
Homecoming Week Begins
From Oct. 26:
Monday
Old
Mum Pick-Up
Wednesday Football Game and Spirit Party Homecoming Party at Venue
Friday Saturday
From April 19:
Monday Themed Homecoming Days Monday-Friday
Alumni Weekend Begins; Alumni Golf Tournament
Thursday
New
As of March 4
Alumni Classes on Campus and Alumni Dinner
Friday Family Cookout and Class Reunion Parties
Saturday
Homecoming Football Game Homecoming Party at Venue
Jeffrey S. Genecov, ‘77, DDS, MSD
Diplomate, American Board of Orthodonotics Member, AmericanAssociation of Orthodontists
Now in Preston Hollow for your convenience!
