5 minute read
OBSERVATIONS ON WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A STETSON ALUM
The Then, The Now, The Next
BY AMY GIPSON
There is no old age. There is, as there always was, only you.” – Carol Grace, American actress and author
What does it mean to belong to a place and have it belong to you? To be from somewhere, to be known so deeply by others there, to call a place home? A place where — when you return years later — you fall into your old self and the friendship banter of yesterday, but with the wisdom and reflection of age. You fall into the bittersweet, to marvel at the juxtaposition of the then and now.
It was January 2023 when I was asked to take the lead with a film crew and create a documentary about the avalanche that took the lives of three Stetson students in Innsbruck, Austria. By that June, I was on Mount Seegrube in the Alps, standing next to Jill Jinks ’79 as she relived the moments of Jan. 15, 1979, and pointed to the spot where the rush of snow had stopped before her 44 years earlier. For the next 18 months, I would sit through countless hours of interviews, listening to your stories — who was dating whom, what it felt like to be 21 and watch your friends die.
When we shared the first cut of the documentary (35 minutes) at Homecoming 2023 in October, you drew together in a packed room, with emotion so raw it hung in the air. You were remembering the loss of your friends all those years ago. Searching for closure. Assuaging grief through community. The healing began, and you needed to talk. We gathered more interviews at Homecoming, and in 2024 screened the documentary in Atlanta, Tampa and Boca Raton. We met the families of Scotty, Katy and Dennis. We went back to Innsbruck in July 2024 with more alumni; we cast bells at Grassmayr and felt their warmth fresh out of their molds. We put a plaque on Mount Seegrube so no one would forget. Innsbruck embraced us like old friends, as they embraced you long ago.
The documentary grew to 70 minutes, and we shared it at Homecoming 2024, and the bell — the Scotty, Katy, Dennis bell — cast on the 45th anniversary of the avalanche on Jan. 15, 2024, was rung for the first time on the Stetson campus that night — on the same Lee Chapel stage where the memorial service was held in 1979. We cast a duplicate bell in Innsbruck, to reside in Hulley Tower, on the 46th anniversary. And all along the way, we raised the funds needed to Stand Up Hulley. We broke ground on Hulley Tower on February 24, and even the rain couldn’t stop us.
To the alumni and friends who have been part of this effort, no matter your class year or whether you are remembering Scotty, Katy and Dennis, or remembering your own lost loved ones, or remembering Hulley Tower and the sound of its chimes: Through Innsbruck, Hulley and the documentary, I hope we have given you back yourselves. This is what you have shown us about what it means to be a Stetson Alum.
No one gets left behind. Your friends simply will not let that happen.
There is no greater feeling than to be part of something larger than yourself. Standing before the mountain or surrounded by Stetson friends, you have been overwhelmed and humbled by the immensity of emotion and connectedness — by the Soul of Stetson and the best within us.
When you greet old friends, time falls away. It is easy to see you as you were then. It makes us all happy to watch. We see that in our students on campus still today.
The stories. So many stories! You have many memories together, and they become more precious, funny and often more exaggerated at each telling.
You gain sustenance from your enduring Stetson friendships. You gravitate toward each other with love and respect. These are people who knew you when. They know your dreams, faults and vulnerabilities, and love you anyway. What a gift throughout your life.
Reconnection fills holes in our souls. It makes us complete. So does music.
You love our students, even if you don’t know them, and crave connection. They are us, and we are them. The bond transcends time and place. Stetson chose us, and we all chose Stetson.
You have made Hulley Tower a symbol of the power of place and shared experiences. It is your legacy, for all alumni past, present and future.
Everything you need is inside you. You may not have understood where to start, but you knew the only path was forward.
We need our sandboxes. To play, explore, to build something incredible together.
I can’t wait to see what you’ll do Next.
Amy Gipson is senior associate vice president of Brand Development, Strategy and External Affairs at Stetson.
