Occidental alumni and students teamed up for Alumni and Student Trivia Night at the Global Forum in Johnson Hall. Hosted by the Samuelson Alumni Center, teams battled it out across various trivia topics Feb. 5.
According to Associate Director of Alumni and Parent Engagement Kelsey Belli, this was the second time the alumni center hosted the event.
“We were looking to host an event on-campus to make connecting with alumni easy for students and to be able to connect them to alumni in a low-key, fun atmosphere,” Belli said.
Belli said the feedback from the previous Trivia Night event last year was positive and the Alumni Center wanted to continue hosting on-campus events for alumni and students to connect.
On the day of the event, six teams with four to five people each gathered around decorated tables at the Global Forum. According to Belli, trivia rounds were themed around Occidental alumni achievements, famous tigers and music trivia. There was also a miscellaneous round and a bonus round asking participants to name Occidental’s last 10 presidents. Belli said she designed every question, and her personal favorites were the alumni achievements and famous tigers questions because of the creativity and range.
“I had to do a lot of research,” Belli said. “We have a lot of alumni who’ve done incredible things and I wanted to highlight that.”
Belli said students and alumni who preregistered were teamed up according to related majors, but that there was plenty of room for walk-ins.
The winning team “No Exit” was composed of Victor Mason ’81, Melia Valentine ’25, Amy Wong* (senior), Shelby Kernisant* (junior) and Leah Rosenfeld (sophomore). According to Belli, winners received Occidental merch as their prize for winning. All members said it was their first Trivia Night, and that they wanted to try their best, but did not expect to win first place.
“[The victory] was one hundred percent a team effort because every single person in the group pulled one out of nowhere to get the answer,” Mason said.
The team said there was not a single MVP, especially during the music trivia round. According to Rosenfeld, each member was able to contribute and recall a song on behalf of the group.
“There was a part where Shelby knew the Tupac song because she listened to it at the gym, [and Malia] knew the Will Smith song,” Rosenfeld said. “That was the first time ever where I felt like we were reinventing the wheel. We really worked together.”
Liz Blackman ’80 said she enjoyed playing trivia with her team, and like others, would definitely come back again for another Trivia Night.
“It’s funny meeting students who are obviously so much younger than I am,” Blackman said. “I thought, this is why I came to Oxy: to meet people like this. Being around [everyone], it just reminded me how wonderful the people are at Oxy.”
After the event, Belli said she was proud of the turnout and good energy throughout the night.
“We had a really good mix of alumni and students, and it was fun to see everybody interacting throughout the rounds,” Belli said. “It felt like there was definitely a camaraderie between the teams, even though they just met.”
According to Belli, the alumni center not only hosts events like Trivia Night for students to network on-campus or in Los Angeles, but also plans regional events like the Hometown Tiger Mixers for students whose homes or final destinations after graduation are outside of Los Angeles.
Belli said at student-alumni events, it can be nerve-wracking for both alumni and students alike to go into a room where they do not know anybody, but events like Trivia Night are an interactive, low-stakes way for people to get and stay in touch with the Occidental Alumni Center and community. Belli said the Alumni Center seeks to host similar accessible events for students to connect with alumni and utilize the Alumni Center as a resource.
“We just want people to know that we’re here for you,” Belli said. “The community is there, and Oxy will keep supporting you.”
Contact Vivian Pei at vpei@oxy.edu.
*Amy Wong was a media editor for The Occidental.
*Shelby Kernisant is a writer for The Occidental.
