Homecoming and Alumni Awards

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Homecoming Celebration

Alumni returned to relive their great college memories, while prospective students and their families visited to see all that York College has to offer during the Homecoming and Panther Days weekend, October 22-24. A busy schedule included the theatre department’s 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, women’s basketball game, chapel, choir concert, class reunions, and a lipsync competition. Friday afternoon’s Homecoming Golf Scramble was won by Jared Bady ’06, Zeb Carter ’07, and Joseph Morien 08’ and raised $300 for the golf program. It was followed that evening by the President’s Reception for all alumni. The weekend also recognized a couple of outstanding alumni: Angela Jiang and Dr. Jeffery Hannel and featured the York College Athletic Hall of Fame induction of the 1996 NSCAA Volleyball Championship Team.

During halftime of the women’s basketball game in which they defeated Kansas Christian College 102-49, the York College Homecoming Court was introduced. Congratulations to this year's king and queen: Alexandre Motta and Chailey Bollens. Chailey is a biology major from Orange County, Calif. She is a four-year starter on the women’s soccer team, playing the outside back position and was a 2020 KCAC Honorable Mention as well as a KCAC Scholar Athlete. Motta is an accounting/business administration major from Sao Paulo, Brazil. He plays the left back position on the men’s soccer team and was a 2019 KCAC Honorable Mention as well as a KCAC Scholar Athlete. He is also involved with Esports, Residence Life, Kyodai Social Club and PBL.

Senior candidates for queen were Sadie Carr of Henderson, Neb., Mikayla Brant of Clear Lake, Iowa, and Rosa Vallejo Jauregui of El Paso, Texas. King candidates were Chris Martens of Alden, Minn., Sebastian Barreto of Mount Dora, Fla., and Justus Coppinger of York, Neb. Attendants honored from the freshmen class: Avery Campbell of Abilene, Texas, and Jamie Watts of Midwest City, Okla., sophomores: Sofia Perez of Madera, Calf., and Diego Rubio of Zaragoza, Spain, and juniors: Grace Gaer of Irwin, Iowa, and Bryce Winkler of Lincoln, Neb. n

2021 Homecoming Court: (1st row) Grace Gaer, Alexandre Motta, Chailey Bollens, Sadie Carr, Avery Campbell; (2nd row) Rosa Vallejo Jauregui, Mikayla Brant, Chris Martens, Jamie Watts, Sofia Perez; (3rd row) Sebastian Barreto, Justus Coppinger, Diego Rubio, Bryce Winkler. (above)

The 1996 Volleyball Team of Distinction: (1st row) Jen Tyson, Janet Bell, Laura Hastings, Amy Wishard, Lynn Pafford, Lavica Gammill, Dorothy Bumgardner, Coach Trevin Morgan; (2nd row) Chandy Silvey, Maria Esquerra, Terri Bond, Tiffany Sparks, Natalie Heersche, Micah Bonde – not pictured Cindi Zwemer. (right) The team was represented at the Athletic Hall of Fame induction by Terri (Bond) Dillan, Tiffany (Sparks) Baum, Maria Esquerra, Lynn (Pafford) Smith, and Jen (Tyson) Cassity. (far right)

Young Alumna of the Year: Angela Jiang ’04

Angela Jiang grew up in Beijing, China, and in her first year at York College, made the life-changing decision to become a Christian. Throughout her time at YC, she was part of the Omega Phi social club, served in multiple positions of Student Government, and was active in PBL/SIFE.

After graduating with a business administration and accounting degree, Angela went on to complete her master of accountancy (M.Acc.) degree at Abilene Christian University and is a certified public accountant. She began her career with KPMG, one of the Big 4 accounting firms and also worked at TriMas Corporation in Michigan. In 2011, Jiang’s career path led her to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP where she serves as a director in PwC’s Cyber, Risk and Regulatory practice advising clients on matters involving internal audit, digital transformation, and risks & compliance.

Jiang works and lives in the Cleveland, Ohio, area with her 3husband Dr. Ren Lai and their 7-year old Kaiden.

Alumnus of the Year: Dr. Jeffery Hannel ’89

Dr. Jeffrey Hannel is a family medicine physician with Grace Health System in Lubbock, Texas. From a young age, his teachers told him he had a natural empathy and desire to help others. He decided young that he wanted to be a doctor and pursued that dream.

Hannel began his undergraduate studies at York College, completed his bachelor’s degree at Lipscomb University, and received his medical degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He completed his residency in family medicine at the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center.

Hannel has served as a trustee for York College since 2008. While he champions any cause for the college, he has been especially focused on the campus ministry program. Hannel and his wife Lorena have been married 24 years and have two grown children, Dacia and Saidee.

2021 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees:

1996 National Championship Volleyball Team

The 1996 Panther Volleyball team was led by co-captains, Terri Bond and Tiffany Sparks, alongside senior Amy Wishard on a team otherwise filled with underclassmen. In the first day of the National Small College Athletic Association Championships, York won 9 of 10 matches, losing only to Dominican College, the number one seed. Earning a bye in the final phase of the tournament, the Panthers defeated Martin Luther College in four sets, setting up a rematch with Dominican in the final. York won the first set 15-12 before losing the second and third sets. In the end, the Panthers held off the competition by winning the fourth set and the decisive fifth set 15-10, to clinch the 1996 -1997 Small College National Championship. Wishard and Sparks were named to the All-Tournament team, and Sparks was recognized as Tournament MVP and an All-American. n

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If you were fortunate enough to attend opening night of the hilarious Homecoming musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, you would have seen Contestant #90 (aka President Smith) make his YC theatrical debut.

With alumni and friends having to skip Homecoming last year, we thought a few more pics of what you might have missed would help set the stage for 2022 — October 21-23. And remember, if you are part of our wonderful YC alumni, you don't have to wait for a reunion year! You are welcome back anytime!

The Concert Choir didn't miss a beat as they sang a special selection of hymns to begin their performance on Saturday.

Led by Justus Coppinger ’22, the singing in the East Hill auditorium was a heavenly reminder of alumni's chapel days.

The classes of ’79–’82 made the most of their reunion, getting together multiple times during the weekend.

photo by Bob DeHart '95 For those who could stay awake past 10:30 p.m. you may have caught the entertaining SyncFest concert in Campbell. Homecoming always seems to take advantage of the beautiful autumn days on campus and this year was no exception.

Clif Harris ’71 and Fred ’70 and Erika Maxwell have a good visit at the President's Alumni Reception.

The Lady Panthers took care of business, dispatching the Falcons of Kansas Christian 102-49 in their home opener.