Happy 25th Anniversary to us!
Aint no party like an excel party!
What better way to celebrate your 25th birthday than with friends, food and laughs all round!
25 years already? Shucks where has the time gone! I remember my year at Excel as if it was just yesterday - chillin’ in the common room, the random dance/song jam sesh’s oh and cant forget spending almost all of my student allowance at Tony’s every day haha a small glimpse into the life of an Excel student!
Just recently we finished celebrating our 25th Anniversary and boy what a night it was! 6pm the doors opened and in came a flood of students from years as far back as 1994. You could literally feel the excitement in the room and to see every face light up with pure joy was the icing on the cake. If you’ve been lucky enough to attend Excel you would know that the memories and life-long friendships that come out of this school are irreplaceable.
Like every good party you gotta have entertainment and food right? and why not make use of the resources you already have! We’ve been pretty lucky to have our alumni all take on different careers and pathways post EXCEL and even luckier when a few of them reached out and offered their business’ and services. Caleb Taiala (1994) and his wife provided an impressive dinner with their mouth-watering slow cooked BBQ (Lower and Slower). Naomi Toilalo came through with the vegan rocky road and we couldn’t go without Koia’s infamous brownies hohhh IYKYK. Now entertainment was tricky because lets be honest we could’ve gone all night and the next day with the amount of talent in the room. Sadly we could only see a selection of our alumni; Dan Huirua & Helena Fredericks (1994-95), IDCO alumni dancers (2014-15), Lanzwell (1998-99) and the 2019 Tour Team were just a few of our great performers. If only we could pause time so we could get a taste of everyone’s slice of talent.
All in all, what a momentous reunion for all of us! If the last 25 years has shown us anything, it is that our bond is like no other. There is this instant sense of connection between the creative arts and to have a family-orientated environment with a bonus of God as our foundation is what Excel is all about. It is true what they say, once an Excellian, always an Excellian!
Lets see what God is going to unfold with these next 25 years.