ALUMNI
Homecoming 2015 Review:
The Anchor Still Holds
By Melissa McCutchan and Michael A. Lanier
CIU student writers
November is a busy time at Columbia International
University; exams are looming, the holidays are coming,
and for one exciting weekend, alumni return to CIU’s
campus for the annual Homecoming celebration.
Homecoming 2015 festivities took place on Friday and
Saturday, Nov. 6-7, with the theme “Anchored: Appreciate
the Past, Anticipate the Future.”
Current students, faculty,
and alumni gathered for
the Alumni of the Year
Chapel on Friday, which
honored Dr. David Chow
(’75). Chow serves as the
president of Ambassadors
for Christ, a ministry
that reaches out to
Chinese intellectuals and Chinese students who are studying
abroad. The Alumni Association also awarded Alumni of the
Year honors to Chow’s late father, The Rev. Moses Chow (’58),
posthumously.
“I believe the Lord wanted to use this [award] as a milestone of
encouragement to me, to end well and to end strong,” Chow said.
Chow also spoke at the annual President’s Banquet that
evening, where he emphasized the importance of evangelizing
Chinese students studying abroad in the United States and
mobilizing them to take the gospel back to China.
“The [Chinese] people have found God (in the United States),
and they go back [to China] with a sense of purpose: ‘To Know
Him and to Make Him Known,’” Chow said reciting CIU’s motto.
Reflecting on his CIU experience, Chow said that he is “forever
grateful to God and indebted to CIU for the life-transforming
education I received as a student here.”
Current students made an effort to be very involved in
Homecoming, attending several events including the yearly
speed meeting with alumni. The students learned as much as
they could about CIU’s past from each alumnus in one-on-one
interactions lasting only a few minutes. In turn, the students
shared their plans for the future.
Save the Date!
Homecoming 2016
November 4-5
Friday, alumni had the opportunity to sit in on classes and
even reunite with their professors. “I enjoyed attending a class
I took as a student and meeting current students,” said John
Sellers (’87).
On Saturday, alumni were treated to two athletic events. The
first was men’s soccer. The Rams lost a tough one to Chowan
University 3-2 as the seniors, who made history in CIU’s first-
ever intercollegiate athletic event four years ago, played their
final game.
(See page 22.)
The second athletic event was the
legendary intramural North/South game, now more commonly
referred to as the CIU Bowl. The South won 8-6.
So, while the anchor of God holds at CIU, some aspects of CIU
life remain rooted in the past, while changes bring anticipation
of the future.
“I’ve been coming (to Homecoming) ever since I finished in
’99,” alumna Luadell Edmond said. “I enjoy coming to see the
changes and the people.”
(Left to right) Scotti (‘66) and Bob Hammond (‘66) and
Don Sarazen (‘92) chat with sophomore Nassar Najjar.
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CIU Today
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