MONTHLY ISSUE THURSDAY, Dec. 8, 2022 VOLUME 97 ISSUE 4
NEWS
LA VIDA
OPINIONS
SPORTS
INDEX
Red Raider Food Pantry is open during the holidays for students to stop by and get their necessary items.
Toreador Media director Susan Peterson is retiring after 37 years of dedication to students and The Daily Toreador publication.
Students are overwhelmed during this time of year. Final exams are a big part of why students need more study time.
Joey McGuire heads to his first bowl game on Dec. 28, 2022 as a head coach. Read about his accomplishments here.
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NEWS SPORTS OPINIONS LA VIDA
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100 years at Tech
Finals Frenzy
64th annual Carol of Lights kicks off Tech’s Centennial celebration for the new year. Kierra Eyiuche/The Daily Toreador
Generations of Red Raiders share world record By MARIANNA SOURIALL
Staff Writer Often, humans tend to gravitate toward individualism, chasing individual success. The Wuensche family is a testament to what can occur from working as a team. To break the Guinness Word Record for the most family members graduating from the same university (Texas Tech), social media played a significant role in bringing the family together. Now after breaking the record, current students McKenna Mann, Max Simnacher, Andrew Simnacher, Sara Phy and Caroline Pierce are working to grow the Wuensche legacy. Once they graduate, they will become a part of the Guinness World Record. The Wuensche family primarily uses its Facebook group to follow members
digitally and plan family reunions. Amber Wuensche Parker had a different use for the Facebook group. “I read about the previous record in The Dallas Morning News in 2014,” Parker said. “We have a Wuensche Facebook group, and I just try to keep connected so I posted the article and said, ‘I wonder how many Tech grads we have?’ People started commenting, so it just kind of grew from there.” Parker sought out the family’s Tech graduates attempting to acquire all necessary documentation required by Guinness. “One of my mom’s family members realized my family might be able to break the world record, so she started getting documentation from everyone and submitted it to Guinness,” first-year prespeech language and hearing
major of Boerne McKenna Mann said. “Since I’m not a graduate or anything, I just thought it would be kind of cool to continue the legacy of my family and one day join the record maybe.” Max Simnacher additionally aspires to become part of the world record as a second-year agriculture business major from Lubbock. For the Simnacher family, Tech is the foundation for many core memories. “I’m not officially a part of it (the world record) yet, but I am going to be,” Max Simnacher said. “I’ve always liked Tech, and my family has always been Tech fans so growing up we would always go watch the games or go tailgating.” “I’ve always grown up around Tech as the college my family has chosen, so I felt it was just somewhere that would be a great place to go to college when it was time,” he
JACOB LUJAN/The Daily Toreador
Members of one family break the Guinness World Record for most family members to graduate from a single university. From the left are Max Simnacher, Sara Phy, McKenna Mann, Caroline Phy and Andrew Sinacher demonstrating school spirit under the centennial statue Dec. 1, 2022.
it’s kind of also weird to think added. that there’s so many people Andrew Simnacher is the that I didn’t know about that most recent Tech graduI’m related to as well.” ate and the older brother of For the nutritional science Max. The nutritional science major, Sara Phy, the award is student is currently working far more than a certificate. on his master’s. Phy said breaking the record Andrew Simnacher said was a complete growing up shock as her imin a house of mediate family Red Raiders made Tech a I know it means a lot is small. “I think for clear choice to my family to just me, (family) for him. have this shared means a lot be“My experience. cause I didn’t family has even plan on always gone going to Tech,” there, so Sara Phy I thought FIRST-YEAR the fourth-year it would NUTRITIONAL SCIENCE Lubbock native MAJOR said. “It is rejust be ally cool to just really nice see how everything worked to continue that and have out, and I know it means a lot ground with all of my family to my family to just have this on stuff that we can relate shared experience.” to,” Andrew Simnacher said. It was cousin Caroline “It’s nice knowing you have Pierce, a first-year business people all over the place, but
major from Lubbock, who assisted in connecting the family. Pierce said after much research, the project started to become about showing the family’s love for Tech. “(The world record) just really showed me how special something can be,” Pierce said. “It’s shown me how important it is to have that big family bond over something, and that no matter the distance or where you are, you can always come together.” The family currently has 108 graduates, including 44 family members and 14 spouses. The five current members don the red and black and will increase the number for the world record when they walk across the graduation stage at the United Supermarkets Arena. @MariannaS_DT
JACOB LUJAN/The Daily Toreador Family members apart of the Guiness World Record holding family jump infront of the university seal celebrating breaking the record for having the most family members to graduate from a single university. From the left are Max Simnacher, Sara Phy, McKenna Mann, Caroline Phy and Andrew Sinacher on Dec. 1, 2022.
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