Mustangs of '73 Stampede Back Onto Campus after 50 Years
Pioneer alumni stroll down memory lane, share stories and reminisce for their graduation anniversary.
By Sharon Kim and Maddie McMahon
Pioneer alumni stroll down memory lane, share stories and reminisce for their graduation anniversary.
By Sharon Kim and Maddie McMahon
Imagine going to school, and there are no bells, no air conditioning and in fact, backpacks haven't even been widely introduced yet. This was the reality for many of the early ’70s graduates of Pioneer.
On Sept. 28, after school, the graduating class of 1973 visited campus to celebrate a 50th anniversary, to tour, reminisce and understand what has changed since their own attendance here.
Michael Cook, who organized this reunion, felt the people and the energy was all there.
“We could reconnect with people that have come from far away in order to share and understand everybody’s good and the bad and the ugly that have happened during their lives and share those experiences in order to see that we all have had the human condition in that we’ve all (have had) times (we) have struggled in our lives either through divorces, job losses, loss of a spouse or other unfortunate items but we’ve all come back and are happy people,” said Cook.
Out of everything that has changed throughout the years, Octavio Ricart, a former varsity athlete, noticed improvements and additions made to Pioneer’s sporting fields and facilities.
“Well it's definitely improved a lot, we didn’t have any of those sporting facilities that you guys have now. We didn’t have a lit football field, we literally didn’t have a baseball field per say, it was kind of way out across the grass there, we had no soccer, softball,” said Ricart.
While many of the alumni felt that the state of the campus has improved in almost every way, one symbolic change that the previous students pointed out was the Mustang emblem on the gym front.
Monica Morais Iacovazzi feels it was a landmark in the school that made locating friends much easier especially without access to phones with a common phrase with it.
“When we wanted to meet after 2nd period or something we’d say meet me under the horse,” said Iacovazzi.
However upon witnessing the emblem once again, Matt Pavone felt a bit of heartache, seeing the once ceramic tiled artwork replaced with worn smooth plastic.
“I had fond memories of the gigantic mosaic, and my suspicion is the mosaic started to deteriorate, and anyway (was) probably too expensive to try and repair it. But I’m kind of disappointed in the state of disrepair. I understand why they replaced the mosaic, but I think they should freshen up the big emblem of the mascot, cause it looks pretty run down,” said Pavone.
However, the common consensus that the majority of the past graduates had were pleasant, nostalgic and fond times at high school.
“Well it's heartwarming and all the memories flood back of who you used to talk to down this hall, your boyfriends your friends and then the classrooms you remember the teacher in that classroom, so it's pretty cool just brought back floods of memories from over 50 years ago, never forget, never forget,” said Iacovazzi.
These individuals’ experiences have allowed them to condense 50 years worth of advice to give to the future graduating classes.
Pavone expressed the importance of thinking about a plan for your future.
“Think about what in school you really enjoy and you’re passionate about, and it can be sports, it can be band, but start to think about how what you love to do could be channeled into your further education and your career,” said Pavone. “And as I’ve often said when I speak to kids in school, if you don’t pick a career, a career is going to pick you.”
But while grades, college and passions matter, Ricart spoke of the importance of socializing and having fun while working hard.
“When you get to be my age, looking back you’re not gonna remember the hour of studying but you’ll remember the hour spent with your friends,” said Octavio.
On Sept. 28, after school, the graduating class of 1973 visited campus to celebrate a 50th anniversary, to tour, reminisce and understand what has changed since their own attendance here.
Michael Cook, who organized this reunion, felt the people and the energy was all there.
“We could reconnect with people that have come from far away in order to share and understand everybody’s good and the bad and the ugly that have happened during their lives and share those experiences in order to see that we all have had the human condition in that we’ve all (have had) times (we) have struggled in our lives either through divorces, job losses, loss of a spouse or other unfortunate items but we’ve all come back and are happy people,” said Cook.
Out of everything that has changed throughout the years, Octavio Ricart, a former varsity athlete, noticed improvements and additions made to Pioneer’s sporting fields and facilities.
“Well it's definitely improved a lot, we didn’t have any of those sporting facilities that you guys have now. We didn’t have a lit football field, we literally didn’t have a baseball field per say, it was kind of way out across the grass there, we had no soccer, softball,” said Ricart.
While many of the alumni felt that the state of the campus has improved in almost every way, one symbolic change that the previous students pointed out was the Mustang emblem on the gym front.
Monica Morais Iacovazzi feels it was a landmark in the school that made locating friends much easier especially without access to phones with a common phrase with it.
“When we wanted to meet after 2nd period or something we’d say meet me under the horse,” said Iacovazzi.
However upon witnessing the emblem once again, Matt Pavone felt a bit of heartache, seeing the once ceramic tiled artwork replaced with worn smooth plastic.
“I had fond memories of the gigantic mosaic, and my suspicion is the mosaic started to deteriorate, and anyway (was) probably too expensive to try and repair it. But I’m kind of disappointed in the state of disrepair. I understand why they replaced the mosaic, but I think they should freshen up the big emblem of the mascot, cause it looks pretty run down,” said Pavone.
However, the common consensus that the majority of the past graduates had were pleasant, nostalgic and fond times at high school.
“Well it's heartwarming and all the memories flood back of who you used to talk to down this hall, your boyfriends your friends and then the classrooms you remember the teacher in that classroom, so it's pretty cool just brought back floods of memories from over 50 years ago, never forget, never forget,” said Iacovazzi.
These individuals’ experiences have allowed them to condense 50 years worth of advice to give to the future graduating classes.
Pavone expressed the importance of thinking about a plan for your future.
“Think about what in school you really enjoy and you’re passionate about, and it can be sports, it can be band, but start to think about how what you love to do could be channeled into your further education and your career,” said Pavone. “And as I’ve often said when I speak to kids in school, if you don’t pick a career, a career is going to pick you.”
But while grades, college and passions matter, Ricart spoke of the importance of socializing and having fun while working hard.
“When you get to be my age, looking back you’re not gonna remember the hour of studying but you’ll remember the hour spent with your friends,” said Octavio.