With the last week of school, finals and fellow Brahmas graduating, it begs the question who will these Brahmas be in years to come? Will they move on to be successful? What will these people accomplish and what lies ahead for the future?
With many former Brahmas moving on to bigger and better things, the school is in debt to Pierce Athletic Director Bob Lofrano, who will be putting on the second Pierce College Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony this week at the Woodland Hills Country Club. With Lofrano at Pierce, it has allowed the school to maintain its heritage and honor the past and present in sports.
Athletes from the past who attended Pierce in its humble beginnings are able to come back and see what they did and reminisce about their accomplishment while they were at school. By Lofrano maintaining a Hall of Fame it allows Pierce to have merit and to have a history that has long been forgotten. It is very rare these days to hear the stories or even a mention of what someone did in the past from Pierce.
At least with Bob Lofrano’s Hall of Fame it allows students to identify with NCIS actor Mark Harmon who played football at Pierce before moving on to play football at USC and then later become successful in Hollywood with one of the most recognizable shows on television. With Lofrano setting up the Hall of Fame, students know that current professional baseball players like Barry Zito and Coco Crisp used to roam the hallways at Pierce.
By honoring the past, Lofrano is helping preserve at least some piece of heritage with the school. While the rest of the school seems to forget about the potential impact by people that attended school, Lofrano makes sure that recognition is given where it is due.
Wouldn’t it be great if the rest of the school followed suit? To not just have a sports Hall of Fame but a Pierce College hall of fame? Where the famous people who supposedly went to Pierce and then went on to do great things whether it was a pioneer in the medical field or being a famous actor were honored for their work and for their fame?
That is ultimately what needs to change at Pierce and follow Lofrano’s example. It is not merely putting a name up on a wall to last a lifetime, a decade or maybe even a year. It is about providing recognition for the school. The reason why Pierce is so good at sports is in part due to how players are recruited and the quality of coaches that are at Pierce. But it also has to do with the fact that players recognize names. They recognize the fact that if they work hard enough, like Crisp and Harmon, they too can move on to a four year school or potentially even play at the major leagues.
In terms of the rest of the school and the administration, they should look at Lofrano as an example of what happens when you honor the past. By honoring the past you can create a heritage. Students shouldn’t be having to go on wikipedia to find out that Joseph Gordon-Levitt from Inception went to Pierce.
Wouldn’t it be great if students knew that famous people actually went to Pierce and moved on to greater and better things? Incoming freshmen could use these people as motivation to make themselves better, noting that if this person can do it so can they. It is not merely about throwing reputable names out there, it is about trying to make the school a viable place to go to where the most talented and hardworking students can come and learn and be successful.
Lofrano is given a lot of credit for how good the sports teams are at Pierce, but if anything the Pierce College Sports Hall of Fame he has created is something more meaningful. The Hall of Fame provides perspective, it provides history and an identity of heritage. Wouldn’t it be great if other aspects of Pierce could be associated with the same?
