Clearing out over 40 years of stuff from a community college building is no easy feat. Nonetheless the Main Building at Mission College will come down and be replaced by open space when its offices relocate to the new Student Engagement Center in early 2018. Niall Adler, Mission College’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations, shared that Mission College’s April 23 Musical Celebration was one of the last events held in the Main Building. An estimated 500 people came.
“It’s great to see so many different community organizations come together for this Musical Celebration,” Adler said. “One of the main goals for the event is to bring people on campus and show what type of gem we have here at Mission College.”
Performing first during the afternoon was the Santa Clara Vanguard (SCV), celebrating its 50th anniversary year. Led by Tim Bacon, the band played the nostalgic “Send in the Clowns.” According to the event program, the SCV also performed at the opening of this Main Building back in 1979 and have conducted rehearsals on campus.
From the Mission Dance Company, students showed the charm of swing, the coordination of hip hop and the gracefulness of ballet.
“If you’ve always wanted to learn how to dance, this is the place to come,” said Brenna Wundram, Director of the Mission Dance Company. “We have a beautiful new facility called the Viso Sports Complex. It [has] two new beautiful dance studios and two new weight training rooms.”
Led by John Ector, the Mission College Chorus joyfully sang “Forever in my Heart” with lyrics by former Mission College student Barbara Ting. The harmonious sounds of the Mission College Symphony playing Mozart, von Weber and Beethoven filled the space. Other performances included San Jose Jazz High School All-Stars’ jovial “Sing Sing Sing” and the young dancers of Los Lupenos Juvenil’s showcase of distinctive cultural costumes and Mexican folk dance.
Mission College’s Hospitality Management Department offered refreshments, which included savory puff pastries with light and flaky crusts and warm and flavorful meat inside. The Mission Bistro Express, the school’s new food truck, served cubed potatoes with saffron aioli and a crunchy Chinese chicken salad.
Mission College’s Vice President of Instruction Leandra Martin recognized Daniel Peck, Mission College President, and Karl Watanabe, member of the Board of Trustees in the West Valley-Mission Community College District.
“Mission College has been a part of this community for over 40 years and is celebrating its 40th graduating class this year; this is 40 years of nursing, firefighting, culinary experts, 40 years of graduates in music, art, dance, computer science, engineering, biology,” Martin said. “Our graduates transfer to the CSUs, the U.C. California, private schools and we have a huge history of years of poets, writers and philosophers coming to Mission College and going back into the community.”