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What does Gonzaga Family mean to me?

Three weeks ago our nephew was among 150 young men ready to receive their high school diplomas here in Pasadena, CA.  As I reviewed the commencement program that morning I noticed that two of the graduates had accepted scholarships from Gonzaga University.  I nudged my wife, said nothing and simply pointed to that line in the program.  She smiled, we nodded at each other… enough said.

We live 1200 miles from Gonzaga University.  In 2003 our oldest daughter began our relationship with this place.  Back then, like many Southern Californians, we couldn’t tell you where Gonzaga was located and we mispronounced the name, as did our local and national media.  At that time very few high school students here considered the school their college option and it was rare to find “Gonzaga” printed in any graduation program. Essentially, we knew nothing about the University then.  However, that same year marked the beginning of what became a permanent life-changing experience for our family.  Ultimately, all three of our children would become Zags.  All three would enter different fields of study, follow different paths and emerge as better people when they finished.  Most importantly, today all three will still tell you that Gonzaga was the best thing that ever happened to them!

As parents how did we ever come to confidently embrace our students’ decision?

Why did ALL of our kids pick an institution in Spokane, WA?

Simply, it was the Gonzaga Experience, the Gonzaga Family to which all entering students become absorbed.  Spanning these nine years we have witnessed this multifaceted “Family” not only change, enhance, and shape our own kids, but do exactly that to all of their classmates.  The Family is much more than your typical allegiance that college students often blindly adopt for their alma mater.  It involves a maturation process that challenges and nurtures on every level.  The road is deliberately not easy.  Much is expected. Yet, in return the Family is always there to help guide energies in the right direction and produce awesome results.  The Gonzaga environment is like no other.  We could easily write a dissertation on the topic citing hundreds of examples.  Yet, most importantly the proof lies in the well-rounded GU graduates.  The confident, compassionate, forward thinking individuals who emerge ready to make a difference wherever they go.

What once seemed to us “the best kept secret” in college experience and education is not a secret any more.  Today, the Gonzaga name is reflected in every high school commencement exercise we attend in Southern California and understandably referenced in casual conversation with great passion and enthusiasm.  Over the course of a decade, we have witnessed an exceptional University rapidly spread its influence to the Southwest and beyond.  The Family is no longer 1200 miles away.  The Family is Here!  We are ecstatic to be part of it!

Tom & Elaine Bigley

 

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