Riverside, Calif., August, 2000--Seventh-day Adventists from around the world celebrated their diversity and a shared world mission at the 57th General Conference Session in Toronto, Canada.

The gathering, held June 29 to July 8, also gave La Sierra University alumni a time to reconnect with their alma mater, said Candace Jorgensen, alumni services director. Careers and distant callings take La Sierra graduates far from Southern California. So if a visit to the old campus is not always feasible, the Toronto gathering brought La Sierra to its alumni. "It was thrilling to see people from around the world, some of whom we had not heard from in years," Jorgensen said.

The capstone event of the La Sierra GC activities was a July 2 alumni gathering at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Toronto. A wide spectrum of alumni attended the event, everything from the recently graduated of the late 1990s, to the very-much-retired alumni from the "golden years" of La Sierra College.

Alumni, alumni spouses and friends of the university numbered more than 50 at the reception. Though the majority was from California, many alumni came from other parts of the country and even distant corners of the world. If prizes were given for traveling the longest distance, it would have gone to alumni Ira and Rita Bailie of the classes of '50 and '51, respectively. The couple lives in Banepa, Nepal, where he works as medical director at Scheer Memorial Hospital, an Adventist facility.

Whether from Nepal or Nebraska, all non-California alumni got a small prize from their old school: a chocolate bar from See's Candies. Products from the San Francisco-based candy company can be hard to find for those not living in the Western United States, Jorgensen explained.

The Crowne Plaza reception included remarks from university President Lawrence Geraty, with a particular emphasis on details about the ongoing land development project and philanthropic developments.

Beyond the reception, La Sierra staffed a booth alongside more 270 other organizations that crowded the Metro Toronto Convention Centre during the GC. Visitors to the booth numbered in the hundreds each day and Jorgensen shared glad-handing duties with Geraty; Gene Edelbach, enrollment vice president; John Jones, School of Religion dean; and Maynard Lowry, director for corporate and foundation relations.

Visitors signed up for daily giveaway of copies of the La Sierra Vocal Octet's most recent compact disc. Octet members gave a personal touch to the drawing by staffing the La Sierra booth on July 6. The group of La Sierra students also featured prominently in session programming. Beyond performances for a Thursday morning worship service, the group gave an afternoon concert on July 7. In addition, the students were a part of the musical interlude that preceded the July 8 closing ceremony.

The connections and reconnections made in Toronto more than made up for the work associated with getting to the distant Canadian city on the shores of Lake Ontario, Jorgensen said. "Whenever I hear about our alumni and the service they are giving in so many parts of the world, I'm reminded of why we are all here," she said.

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Story by Jack Stenger, interim Public Relations director and Allison Lamon, Public Relations newswriting intern.