On Saturday, Oct.13 students, alumni and community members of the Merrimack Valley area alike gathered for Northern Essex Community College’s second annual homecoming. There were activities, pie eating contests, and the Campus Classic 5K Race, bringing out a large crowd despite the rain.

Features included food from Lucky’s cafe, beer provided by Newburyport Brewery and DJ artist Andy Schachat.

Participants of all ages for the campus classic 5k started checking in at 8:30 a.m. but didn’t start running until 10 a.m. The Classic 5k has become a huge hit throughout the years and there are more participants each year.

Freshman and runner Sophia Duphily did not let the rain stop her from participating.

“I have been running since I was about 4 or 5 years old,” she said, adding that she enjoys running because “it’s a great way to come out to different events like this to get to connect with your community.”

Kiley Broadhurst, who is currently studying communication, started running this past

Summer. She said she has wanted to do a 5k before and thought that participating in NECC’s classic 5k would a perfect opportunity to start. “

I’ve been considering doing a 5k for a while and it supports the school system,” said Broadhurst.

Due to the rain and cold, there were some hard points in the race Broadhurst had to overcome but was able to by going at her own pace and with the community cheering her on.

Coordinator of Orientation and Student Involvement in the Student Life Office Ariel Chicklis knows that “lots of work” goes into making an event like Homecoming happen at Northern Essex.

“We have a Homecoming committee with different people around the campus and they all have different tasks that they need to do to make something like this a success,” Chicklis said.

Some of the activities that the committee helped put together included a pumpkin painting table, make your own slime, and a caricature artist on hand.

“The thought is that we want students to feel sort of a sense of nostalgia once they graduate and that they want to come back for alumni weekend,” Chicklis said.

Some alumni at the event included Cheryl Goodwin, class of 1982 (who now works for President Lane Glenn) and Joe Ryan, class of 1977.

Both have seen the campus and community at Northern Essex grow and change, but being a part of the second ever Homecoming has both feeling overjoyed, with Goodwin saying “I am elated… the Homecoming  a  is a wonderful celebration to bring together faculty, staff, students and alumni like myself to bring them back on campus to reconnect.”

Ryan, who has previously taught classes as an adjunct staff member says “I feel honored, I’m a proud alumni of this great institution.”

Ryan continued by saying “I’m very very proud of Northern Essex. I’m proud to say that I’m a product of community college education.”

Homecoming is a new tradition at Northern Essex that many hope to see continue for years to come.

The Campus Classic used to be held on the first Saturday of May but was recently changed to the fall to accommodate with the Homecoming and bring in the fall season. Although the Homecoming is free the campus classic 5k is a fundraiser and all the proceeds support NECC scholarships and academic programs said, Sarah Comiskey, a communications specialist at NECC, served as a volunteer coordinator for this particular event

Everyone present who was involved with putting together Homecoming was pleased to see participants stay and enjoy the festivities they had to offer.

Although this year it was a cold and rainy day it didn’t affect the community, everyone still

enjoyed the actives that were going on, even though they were moved to the gym.

Victoria Gladstone a criminal justice major did not participate in the Campus Classic but did attend Homecoming.

Gladstone partook in the games that were provided such as ladder ball and corn hole.

She said she had noticed that the rain affected this year but that she enjoyed the day.

“I would recommend this to a friend even if they weren’t part of NECC,” she said.

The 5k and homecoming bring attention to show off the school, students faculty

and what everyday life is like at NECC.