Author: Savannah Doviak

Each year Houghton openly welcomes back its graduates as they accept jobs in all departments, especially athletics. This year, six 2014 graduates returned for jobs on the Houghton athletics coaching staff, while numerous alumni from previous years still hold jobs in the athletic department.

Stepping straight into the professional world directly after graduation can be a big step that not everyone is ready for or wants right away. Having the opportunity to be an assistant coach at Houghton often acts as a buffer for postgraduates. It gives them time to take a breath, have fun, and figure out what is next in an environment they know and love.

For Kaiden Bowers, assistant coach of the Houghton baseball team, that was exactly what he needed. When discussing his role on the baseball team he said, “Post-graduation, many students struggle with adapting to the “real-world” which entails starting a career and becoming an adult. Working with the baseball team does not feel like work as I thoroughly enjoy and love being on the field.”

For those who graduated last year, the role they play for their team is exactly their title; they assist. “Coach Hager [head cross-country and track and field coach] describes me as his ‘right hand man,’ I work with him a lot to make his job easier,” said David Richards, assistant track and field coach.

“As a student-athlete, you are unaware of all the behind-the-scenes aspects of coaching,” said Bowers.

Though an assistant coach is strongly a part of the team, the first role of their job is to help the head coach. “I do a lot of administrative work, like submitting trip itineraries to the Athletics Department Administrative Assistant and sending out orders when people want to order running shoes,” explained Richards.

“I’ve definitely gained a lot of experience in recruiting prospective athletes, as well as the administrative duties, such as budget management, scheduling, and inventory planning, just to name a few,” Bowers added.

Yet despite the monotonous office work, the love these coaches have for their team is apparent. “The best thing about being a coach for this team is that we have a great group of guys that are fun to be around and I enjoy watching them get better at lacrosse everyday,” said Nathan Hatch, assistant men’s lacrosse coach.

For Richards it is, “attending meets, where [he] can see the athletes [he has] helped coach push themselves to better and better performances.”

Yet, when talking to the coaches it also became apparent that the very thing they love about their job also makes it difficult. “It has been tough trying to find a balance between [being] a coach and friend,” explained Bowers.

Being on a team means creating lifelong relationships, and when you return to coach those very people, being viewed as a coach can prove to be difficult. Bowers went on to say, “As much as I want to continue developing close relationships with my friends, I have had to hold back and remove myself from situations that may be misconstrued as a conflict of interest.”

Hatch expressed similar feelings when he said, “Being a coach that was a player the year before, you tend to have some players that might not exactly like having you as their coach, but the guys on this team have all been respectful towards me in my new position.”

Despite the long hours in the office and the changed relationships, these coaches took the job for the same reason: for their love of the sport and the people it comes with. Bowers put it best, “This opportunity has truly been a blessing as I continue to gain valuable coaching experience and build my resume, but doing so in a familiar environment.”

The Houghton community continues to grieve the passing of ‘Big’ Al Rehn, Houghton’s previous dining hall manager beginning in 1982. During his time at Houghton, Al had a large impact on the Houghton community earning him the President’s Advisory Council on Excellence Award in 1993, and also, had a yearbook dedicated to him by the class he advised.

Big Al worked for Pioneer Caterers for roughly 18 years before leaving to work alongside his son at Columbia Bible College. During his time at Houghton, Big Al was described as someone that everyone looked up to and enjoyed. Ask everyone who knew him and they say the same thing: thumbs up and ok. His signature gesture, along with his always-cheerful personality will forever fill the minds of those he impacted.

Ed Taylor, Sodexo student supervisor, described Big Al, saying, “He’s just a jolly old guy that everyone loved. Everyone thought of him as a long lost dad.” Trying to hold back laughter, Taylor spoke of how Big Al always had a “dumb joke” to tell and how fun he was to work with.

While speaking about Big Al, Robert Danner, former Vice President of Student Life, 1981-2001, said, “When a group of college students begin to give you a nickname and play jokes on you, you know that you’ve been accepted. Other people know you’ve been accepted.” As Danner reminisced on his time as Vice President, he told stories of Big Al’s always-impressive Halloween costumes and midnight breakfast appearances as Santa.

Danner went on to discuss how he could hear, from his office, the sounds of Big Al’s chainsaw as he worked at one of his infamous ice sculptures. “He had an electric chainsaw, a block of ice, and an idea. He would carve on it until he liked it and put it back in the freezer until he needed it,” said Danner. Big Al’s sculptures would appear at various Houghton dining hall events.

Greg Bish, director of student programs, was a student during the time Big Al worked at Houghton. Bish described Al as a past pillar of the Houghton community and someone that shouldn’t be forgotten.

“He was an iconic Houghton person during the time that he worked here,” said Bish, further stating that sharing Big Al’s story is a way of “honoring someone from the past that was a person that previous students enjoyed. It’s important for current students to know about Houghton’s story and it’s important to remember those moments from the past.”

Though Houghton students today didn’t have the chance to meet Big Al, his legacy is still visible throughout campus. “The pizza operation had some very humble beginnings,” began Houghton’s class of 1968, Warren Smith, who helped to start Big Al’s snack shop. Smith had started selling soda out of his dorm room and when the college shut him down Big Al offered him the opportunity to sell pizza and wings through the college. Together they renovated the area and started what we still know as Big Al’s today. “While observing the large, jolly looking pizza chef that was imprinted on the pizza boxes, I decided that it should be named after Al, Big Al’s. That is how Big Al’s began,” said Warren.

“I think when alumni come back and they go to Big Al’s they come back and remember the person Big Al,” said Bish.