Celebrating 100 years of Adventist education in Arizona was the theme of the Thunderbird Adventist Academy alumni weekend this past April. It was even more special as all the honor classes that were missed from postponed alumni weekends in 2020 and 2021 were recognized in addition to this year’s honorees. With three times as many honor classes, close to 400 individuals were on campus during the Sabbath program, and even more joined via livestream provided by Good News TV.
During the roll call, eight alumni from the 70-year classes (1950-1952) of Arizona Academy were honored. These individuals are some of the remaining alumni who walked on the first academy campus that was located in downtown Phoenix. Shortly after they graduated, Arizona Academy moved to its current location in Scottsdale and the name was changed to Thunderbird Adventist Academy. The Thunderbird name comes from the military airfield that was part of the property that was purchased in the early 1950s.
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By Tanna Allison and Jeff Rogers
