To commemorate the school’s 50th anniversary on September 7, 2015, Alisal hosted an all day event catered to Alumni on September 18, 2015. This was Alisal’s first day-long Alumni Day. The day included breakfast, the Homecoming parade, lunch, a tour, a tailgate party, and the Homecoming game.

The event began in the small gym at 8. The alumni were served breakfast and received a bag with Trojan gear. Many of the alumni were happy to see each other and reminisced about their years in high school. Violet Siababa Rodriguez (Class of 1967), Evie Felipe Bolante (Class of 67), and Gloria Felipe (Class of 68) were all Pom-Pom girls. Felipe said, “We broke history because we had the first short uniform. Before that, we would be sent home if our skirts weren’t at our knees.”

Many others who helped create Trojan history also attended the event. Terry Espinosa, who has a banner hung in the large gym, was not an alumni but was a staff member for 36 years. He was wrestling coach, softball coach, and athletic director. He said, “I worked here from 1968 to 2004. Even though I’m not an alumni, I’m home here.” Timon Richardson, who graduated in 2015, also attended the event with his mother and aunt. He has had family members graduate in 1969, 1973,1984, 1985, 1986,1987, 1989, 1991, and will have another family member graduate in 2019. Richardson said, “I came to Alisal because of school choice and to continue my family’s tradition. I’m happy I graduated from Alisal.”

After breakfast, the alumni headed to the front of the school to watch the Homecoming parade. They were only able to see the students leave and return since they sat by the marquee. When the seniors returned from the parade, they surprised the alumni by replacing “everyone” in the Trojan Yell to “Alumni”. The alumni responded by erupting in cheers. Gloria Felipe said, “It was definitely a pleasant surprise. I was touched when the seniors added the alumni into the Trojan Yell.”

The next event was the school-wide rally. The alumni were seated right on the turf. Of course, all the activities required their participation. Senior Adeline Solano said, “It was definitely fun competing against the alumni because the classes were used to competing against each other.” No rally would be complete without a Trojan Yell competition, which the alumni enthusiastically joined in. At the end of the rally, the alumni sang the Trojan Fight Song with the students. Senior Breanna Aguilar said, “It was pretty cool to see that they were still prideful about Alisal. I even joined in.”

The alumni then ate lunch and took tours of the school during 5th and 6th period thanks to some senior AVID students. Senior AVID student, Gisselle Cortez said, “The alumni were a lot of fun. The tours turned out better than I had expected.”  Many of them enjoyed the window paintings for Homecoming, especially the seniors’ window because it commemorated Alisal’s first year. Inside the halls, facts about notable alumni and events were posted. They also visited the library where various yearbooks were displayed. One group, which consisted of many alumni from the first graduating classes, visited English teacher Jane Albano, where they interacted with her freshmen class. Albano was part of the second graduating class, and said, “I was so surprised when my former classmates visited me. I was so happy, my freshmen also had a lot of fun.”

The last step before the Homecoming game was the tailgate for alumni only. The tailgate had a great turnout and many alumni would like to have more in the future.Senior Andrea Martinez said, “I enjoyed seeing Ms. Albano greet all the Alumni. I want to come back and greet old friends just as happy as she was.” After much anticipation, the alumni watched the Homecoming game. Throughout the game, various alumni were given shout outs and greeted more alumni that were not able to attend the event during the day. Albano said, “I sat at the stadium entrance gate and saw more of my former classmates and students that didn’t go to the event during the day. I was very happy to say the least.”

Rachel Torres, the school’s liaison and fellow Alisal alum, was pleased with the day’s overall turnout and thanked Principal Ernesto Garcia for all his support. Torres said, “Without the support of Mr. Garcia, the event wouldn’t have been possible.” According to Garcia, the first all-day alumni dedication was a tremendous success, and he hopes it paves the way for all future Alumni Days.