“First year at Grebel was like being in a musical. There never seemed to be dark days and we were always singing,” reminisced Kathleen Cleland Moyer, (BA 1981). “I loved every single day, just the feeling of waking up and wondering what fun I was going to have!”
Reunions are all about remembering the past, including creative pranks. “In the fall term of 1979, Daryl Wark was my roommate in the men's dorm on the third floor of the residence,” said Harold Thiessen. “Daryl and I decided to go see a movie at the Campus Centre and when it was over, we headed back to our pad. As we entered, we found not our room, but that of Dawn Sovereign and Cathy Rolls, who had a room directly below ours on the second floor. We went to the second floor and found our posters on the walls, beds in the same condition, and items on the desk bulletin boards, just as they had been in our room. Well, it turns out that someone had almost entirely and identically, switched the contents of each room.”
“For a term or so there was a group of us who called ourselves the Jacks (none named Jack) and Jackettes,” said Nancy Dykstra. “Late night rambling on campus comes to mind, with Shoe phones being part of the scenes I recall. Clearly Get Smart in the upper lounge played an influential role in our UW education. It would be great to see this gang again and find out what they have been up to in the time since then.”
Kathleen was one of the first Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) graduates at Grebel. “The concepts I learned in PACS became an integral part of my career and my life,” said Kathleen. “Conrad Brunk was an amazingly talented PACS prof. His courses provoked a lifelong interest in PACS. A good deal of my career was working in organizations that Conrad helped to start, including Community Justice Initiatives of Waterloo Region and Conflict Resolution Network Canada.”
“I would love to see really everyone who crossed my path in those days,” said Kathleen. “I’m so curious about what people are up to. I am very grateful for the good people who have shared the Grebel experience with me even if it wasn't at the same time.”
Join this year’s alumni reunion for an evening of reminiscing the past and looking forward to the future. It will be a hybrid event which will include a reception at Grebel and virtual elements like a slide show, a virtual tour of the College, and an update from President Marcus Shantz.
Registration is required to attend. Email Alison Enns at aenns@uwaterloo.ca asap for last-minute registration or to join us on Zoom to tune in virtually. Learn more on the event website.
By Ashitha Mantrawadi
