By Katelyn Needham/ managing editor
Photos by Bogdan Sierra Miranda/The Collegian
Twenty years ago, Princess Diana and Prince Charles officially divorced, the first flip phone went on sale, Dallas Cowboys won Super Bowl XXX and SE Campus was built.
The campus celebrated its 20th anniversary Nov. 17-18 with an event for students and another for district and community personnel.
The student event had a birthday celebration theme.
“The 17th is the actual anniversary date for the campus,” SE student development director Doug Peak said. “We wanted to focus on the students for the actual birthday because if it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be here.”
The event included ’90s trivia games, cake and ice cream and music from the era.
“This event is a reminder that we started as a small campus, and now we have a new building and 13,000 students,” SE student government parliamentarian Daisy Estrada said. “It’s a way for us to connect and remember where we came from. We’re a community and a really connected campus, but stuff like this gives students a good way to get to know each other.”
The formal celebration Nov. 18 was invitation-only and focused on the historical aspect of the anniversary.
“The 20th anniversary events are culminations of all the hard work the staff, faculty and administration put in to really serve the students and the community,” SE president Bill Coppola said. “The committee that worked a year to make these events possible is comprised of many people who were working on this campus when it first opened.”
The formal celebration also allowed learning and hands-on opportunities for some SE students.
Culinary majors helped prepare and serve the food. Students from music classes performed for the guests in attendance, and student ambassadors spoke.
“This event lets us use the skills we learned in class out in public and brings us closer together,” SE student and performer Edward Granados said. “I’m actually a biology major, but I can’t get rid of things that I love, and playing at things like this gives me a chance to show off all my hard work.”
Attendees included the chancellor, the mayors of Arlington and Mansfield and state representatives Chris Turner and Bill Zedler. The evening also included guests like SE administrative office assistant Lynnette Henshaw who has been working at the campus since it opened in 1996.
“February of ’96 is when I came to SE Campus,” Henshaw said. “My office was in an old farmhouse. There were no buildings, no roads, nothing. It’s been pretty amazing, and I’ve gotten to see a lot of changes. I’m sure that because of the geographical location, it will continue to grow. That’s our goal so that we can provide for the community and students.”
