It was a special night for Marianopolis College, the private English CEGEP that celebrated its centennial with an elaborate gala on Thursday evening.
The theme of the gala was Luminocity, recognizing 100 years of building bright futures.
Over the years, the school has produced over 20,000 graduates including CTV Montreal lead co-anchor Todd van der Heyden.
"I owe a lot of my career to Marianopolis," Todd said during a speech at the gala.
Barbara Handfield, from the class of 1959, says she still feels close to the institution.
"It's a wonderful community to belong to," she said.
"We love our college and we hope that for the next hundred years, it'll be very successful, as usual."
Community
Many people who spoke to CTV talked about the sense of community fostererd at Marianopolis, which has far fewer students than other CEGEPS.
Montreal Executive Committee member Alan DeSousa just had a son graduate from the college.
"I saw first-hand how much of an influence it had on him, both in terms of his academics but also in terms of its sense of community spirit," said DeSousa.
Students and teachers alike say Marianopolis feels like home.
Biology teacher Stewart Daly says the school's open-door policy helps build relationships.
"The students are in and out of your office, in and out of your classroom," he said.
"You get to know them, they get to know you. It's a community."
History
Marianopolis moved from its longtime location on Cote-des-Neiges road to a former mother house on Westmount Avenue.
The religious institution had been home to the college from 1926 to1944.
It's Montreal's only private English CEGEP, and it's constantly evolving, said Director General Len Even.
"We're going to work towards more student support, and program innovation and fully leverage the great facility we have in the city of Montreal," he told CTV's Maya Johnson.
