For some families, going to Chico State is a tradition. For Adam Catching, a junior physics major, it was just the best fit for him. The fact that his mom, dad, three uncles and grandmother attended the same school was coincidence.

“I remember coming here with my parents for alumni weekends and I have memories being on the campus when I was younger,” Catching said.

His parents met in Chico during the time they attended school from 1982 to 1987.

“My dad was one of the founders of the pumpkin drop that takes place every year in Butte Hall and participated in Rancho Days and Pioneer Days,” he said. “My parents were also here during the riots of 1987, but weren’t really a part of it.”

Catching’s grandmother went to Chico State from 1941 to 1945 and majored in liberal arts. She went on to be a grade school teacher, while some of his uncles attended in the 70s and 80s.

Catching, a native of Santa Rosa, said his family comes to visit their alma mater about once every semester.

“The school is definitely something we all bond over,” he said. “They talk about how the big hang outs back then were The Graduate and The Oasis, which has changed a lot.”

But the biggest change his family notes might have them pointing fingers at themselves.

“They say there’s a lot more rules than there used to be, but that they created them because of all the things their generation used to do,” Catching said.

Chico State was also a common theme between senior social science major Janelle Cardosa and her two older brothers.

Although her brothers graduated in 2004 and 2009, Cardosa said their experiences at Chico State brought them closer together.

“My brothers and I talk about Chico all the time,” she said. “We share our experiences and all the things we have in common from Chico.”

Cardosa even got her own personal tour of Chico as a freshman when her brothers came to visit.

“They showed me all the places they use to hang out and drove me to where they lived when they went here,” she said.

While Cardosa is the only sibling to join the Greek system, she said her brothers have their own unique experiences that made college interesting for them.

“They talk about all the great friends they made and the fun stuff like going to certain bars and to Bidwell Park,” Cardosa said.

Cardosa said having her brothers attend Chico State definitely factored into her decision to attend the school, too.

“It feels like a family legacy where all the kids graduate from here, and I’m the last one,” she said.