It was a night for a comeback on the field for the Los Angeles Angels and a night of students and staff coming together for the third annual Fullerton College Angels night at the Angels Stadium of Anaheim on Apr. 6, 2018.
The event’s proceeds help raise funds for the Chris Lamm and Toni DuBois Food Bank along with the Students of Distinction scholarships. With around 1,250 Hornets in attendance, the event’s atmosphere of community bonding was felt throughout the night by the students and staff in attendance.
“It definitely creates a sense of community and we’re all here for a common purpose,” stated Fullerton College President Greg Schulz . “We’re here to have fun, but even more important, we’re all here to raise money for our campus food bank and for the students of distinction scholarships, so it’s a good combination.”
The event began with the a Fullerton College tailgate parry, the first of its kind.
“The tailgate was very very nice” said Photography major Fortune Abor. “It was so much fun. All the kids were dancing and everybody was acting normal instead of trying to act cool. Everyone was being their normal selves.”
Before the game, some student representatives from A.S. joined Shulz and NOCCCD Board of Trustees member Jacqueline Rodarte on the field for the pregame ceremonies, with each one them sporting this year’s Fullerton College and Angels mash up hat.
The event gave students the chance to get to know their other fellow Hornets, something some students felt they never have the time to do.
“There are a lot of people that I have never talked to because, you know, we’re always passing by so quickly and going to events on campus,” Abor said. “So, this event let me talk to people that I had been meaning to talk to before that I’ve been seeing around campus.”
Some professors such as English professor Meg O’Rourke appreciated the opportunities that the event provided and saw the community building that the third annual event promoted.
“I thought it was great. It was nice seeing everyone and seeing Fullerton College people come together and be a community,” O’Rourke said. “I think it does help build that sense of community to talk to the people around you and see them out of an academic setting.”
From the beginning of the night’s event at the tailgate to all the action inside the ballpark had Schulz pleased and excited for the event to grow even bigger next year.
“[It’s] just a great night for the whole college,” Schulz added. “I hope we have even more next year.”