During homecoming weekend, Bowling Green State University (BGSU) President Rodney Rogers and others held a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Student Green.
The ceremony started with a welcome speech by Pamela Colin, who is the vice president for University Advancement and president and CEO of the BGSU Foundation, Inc.
Colin welcomed everyone who attended the ceremony, then recognized many individuals who helped make the Student Green happen.
“…the very talented BGSU planning and construction design build team, Craig Regal, the project manager and Christy Piper, director of campus construction,” Colin said.
After, Russell Martin, vice chair of the BGSU Board of Trustees, talks about how the new Student Green will be better for student experiences.
“Today’s dedication is yet another example of how Bowling Green continues to create great student experiences with this newly constructed turf field…” Martin said. “…which will be used by both the Falcon Marching Band and our club sports program, as well as other student organizations, significantly enhancing the student experiences at Bowling Green State University.”
Following those remarks, members from the band and a member from club sports spoke about how this field is going to impact their practices.
Senior band member Madison Allman talked about their past experiences with the old grass field and how the new Student Green will improve the band’s performance.
“This new space will not only make our practices safer and more effective, but will also inspire us to keep reaching higher,” Allman said.
Sophomore Matt Jones shares how this new field will affect club sports in the future.
“With this new field: the Student Green, the men’s and women’s programs of both lacrosse and club soccer will get to expand their communities with even more practices, more time together and a beautiful new complex dedicated to the game they love,” Jones said.
After hearing from the students, Colin explains that there are two names honored on the Student Green. One is for the 40-foot tower, calling it the Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Nowlin Teaching Tower and the other is Student Green in recognition of alumni Paul Hooker. Hooker donated more than a million dollars to build the Student Green.
Both the tower and the field are getting plaques with the donors’ names on them.
Following Hooker’s speech, President Rodney Rogers spoke about how the Student Green is for the students.
“It’s a place for all of our students to come together to learn together, to live together, to be prepared for great careers, but also build networks and friendships that will last a lifetime,” Rogers said.
Rogers also expressed how excited he was about the new field.
“I look out on this new field right now and I see so many possibilities and we are just so excited to have an appropriate facility for the amazing Falcon Marching Band, but also for all the club sports programs that we have on this campus,” Rogers said.
Rogers then finishes his speech with the iconic Ay Ziggy Zoomba. After his speech, many people cut the ribbon in celebration of the opening of the new Student Green. The band then made an entrance playing Forward Falcons to close the ceremony.
