Hung Le, senior vice chancellor for Alumni Affairs, kneels in the front row (center) with a group of alumni in Heidelberg, Germany, during the Heidelberg Travel Experience July 2024. Le said he stays in touch with so many alumni because he wants to remain connected. Photo courtesy of Hung Le
Editor’s Note: Life & Arts Editor Alicia Dofelmier’s mom, Irma Dofelmier, graduated from Pepperdine in 1990 with a Master’s in Business Administration.
Like the tide always changing, so is the Pepperdine community.
As one group of Waves prepares to graduate and become alumni, another group is set to commit and start their journey. Even though change may be an ever-present part of Pepperdine, one thing that remains the same is the alumni connection that enables students to bond with their families over shared experiences.
There are 97 Seaver students whose parents are Pepperdine alumni, Nicole de la Torre, executive assistant and senior manager for Alumni Affairs, said. These students shared how having a family member who attended Pepperdine has made them feel more connected to each other and given another layer of meaning to their Pepperdine experience.
“I would encourage our students, when they see alumni on campus to interact — yes they might not know them, but the fact they are alumni, they are family,” said Hung Le, senior vice chancellor for Alumni Affairs. “When we do Waves Weekend, we invite our alumni back, and we intentionally say ‘Welcome back’ because this is their home and our younger students get to connect with their older siblings.”
Blue and Orange Runs in the Family
For certain students, the colors of blue and orange and the name Willie the Wave are not just something they learned about when applying to college. Some grew up with the knowledge that their parent(s) attended a college that overlooks the Pacific Ocean.
“Pepperdine was definitely in the background growing up, and I always saw myself going here,” junior Katie Nehir said. “We [my family] went to family camp over the summer and volleyball camp and Pepperdine just felt like a second home.”
Nehir said she grew up in Newport Beach, Calif., and still calls it home today.
“Even though Newport Beach is close by, we would always escape to Malibu,” Nehir said. “My mom loves Malibu and her happy place is Malibu.”
Junior Katie Nehir smiles for a family picture at Alumni Park in 2006. Nehir said Pepperdine was always a home away from home for her. Photo courtesy of Katie Nehir
Nehir’s mom, Stacy Alyea, graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Nehir said.
Senior Annie Fillback said growing up close to Pepperdine made it have a presence in her life.
“I grew up about an hour away, so I think it [Pepperdine] was a little bit more prevalent just because of the proximity,” Fillback said. “My mom hosted one of the London study abroad reunions at our house, and my brother did the Pepperdine baseball camps for kids.”
Fillback’s mom, Susanne Fillback, graduated in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Fillback said.
Senior Aidan Tune said his first core memory of Pepperdine involves volleyball camp.
“I went to Pepperdine volleyball camp when I was 13,” Tune said. “It was a cool experience seeing my dad coach all of the kids around me and getting to stay on campus.”
Tune is a member of the Pepperdine Men’s Volleyball Team and his dad Rick Tune, a graduate of the class of 1998, also played for Pepperdine Men’s Volleyball.
Senior Aidan Tune and his dad, Rick Tune, hang out together at Crypto.com Arena 2022. Tune said he wanted to attend Pepperdine because of it’s competitive volleyball program. Photo courtesy of Aidan Tune
While some students may have a sports connection in their family, others have family members who returned to work at Pepperdine. This is true for sophomore Danae Simmons.
Both of her parents graduated from Pepperdine, Simmons said. Her dad Dwayne Simmons graduated in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and her mom D’Nisa Simmons graduated in 1995 with a Master’s in Business Administration.
“My dad later came back to teach some Biology classes from 1985 to 1990, and my mom worked here from 1988 to 1998,” Simmons said. “She worked on the finances for the Howard A. White Center when it was getting built.”
Growing up in California allowed Simmons to learn about Pepperdine through attending sporting events such as basketball and volleyball games, she said.
From left to right: Samantha Covarrubias, Simmon’s friend, Hung Le, senior vice chancellor for Alumni Affairs, sophomore Danae Simmons and Corrine Le get together for a group photo at Hung Le’s house in 2025. Simmons said going to college out of state is hard but her parents’ Pepperdine connections make it easier. Photo courtesy of Danae Simmons
Similar to Simmons, first-year Olivia Siluano’s mom also returned to work for Pepperdine.
Siluano said her mom, Lesbiz Tovar, graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a minor in Nonprofit Management. Tovar is a director in Pepperdine’s IT department.
“Growing up, me, my dad and my sister would always go visit Pepperdine and say hi to my mom,” Siluano said. “I was always in OneStop running around the halls when I was younger, and I’m still close to some of the workers there as well.”
Carrying on the Legacy
Whether or not Pepperdine was a household name growing up, for alumni, it means a lot when their child gets accepted and decides to follow in their footsteps.
Senior Ryan Lilley, whose parents are both Pepperdine alumni, said his parents were more excited than he was when he applied.
“I wasn’t really even considering it [Pepperdine] for a lot of my applications and they were kind of like, ‘You should just apply anyway,’” Lilley said. “When it came down to it, Pepperdine did fit me the best out of any of those schools.”
Senior Ryan Lilley’s dad, Scott Lilley, smiles for a picture with Daniel Daugherty, former Heidelberg program director at Vetter’s Brewery in Heidelberg, Germany 1995. Lilley said Pepperdine was a big presence growing up because all his family friends went here. Photo courtesy of Ryan Lilley
For some students, the Pepperdine legacy goes back further than just having a mom or dad who was an alumni. Sophomore Canon Woodward said he has an older brother, older sister, mom, dad, two aunts and two uncles who have all attended Pepperdine.
Woodward said he and his siblings joked their parents brainwashed them into attending Pepperdine because they all ended up going.
“However, we all felt happy and supported in whatever decision we were going to make,” Woodward said.
From left to right: Reyanne Dover, Aimee Dover, Willie the Wave, DeeDee Dover and Mike Dover stand together for a photo at Alumni Park in 1993. Woodward said he’s very thankful that his parents and family went to Pepperdine. Photo courtesy of Canon Woodward
Having a parent or sibling who attended Pepperdine enables future generations to feel more prepared and at home before they start their first year.
Siluano said she felt her mom had built her a Pepperdine community that was waiting for her.
“She [my mom] was excited for me to come,” Siluano said. “Getting accepted was a heartfelt and full circle moment because growing up I would always brag about my mom working at Pepperdine.”
As a child, she heard a lot about her mom’s experience, making Pepperdine always feel like the natural choice, Fillback said.
“My mom was super excited when I got accepted,” Fillback said. “Her best friends that she grew up with are my non-related aunts and they were her Pepperdine best friends and roommates. There was a lot of excitement within her and her friends, and they’re going to come to graduation.”
Senior Annie Fillback smiles on a walk with her mom, Susanne Fillback at Point Dume on Feb. 7, 2026. Fillback said she never felt pushed or forced in any way to attend Pepperdine. Photo courtesy of Annie Fillback
Nehir said when it came to her college application process, Pepperdine was one of the last schools she heard back from.
“We were both thrilled because getting that acceptance I just felt a wave of relief,” Nehir said. “My reaction to getting this acceptance was my sign to attend, because it was the first time in the college application process where I felt sure of something.”
Similar to Nehir, Simmons said she also knew she wanted Pepperdine to be a part of her future.
“My parents were both really excited,” Simmons said. “We had been talking about Pepperdine, and they knew it was one of my top schools. They both knew it was coming eventually.’”
Added Layer of Meaning
The alumni community at Pepperdine is one of a kind.
Le said his role involves working with all alumni, engaging them and their families in order to keep them connected to Pepperdine.
“When you’re a student, we use the term ‘family’ ubiquitously around here,” Le said. “That relationship doesn’t end when you walk across the stage and shake the hand of our president. When you graduate and become part of that alumni network, we want to keep you engaged.”
He has spent numerous years as part of the Pepperdine family, from being a student himself, to now being a senior vice chancellor, Le said. His favorite part of his role is the students.
“It is a privilege to be a part of the students’ lives and to be engaged with them and to build relationships that I hope last a lifetime,” Le said. “It’s funny when children of alumni whom I knew as students now come. I would call them [those alumni] my ‘kids,’ but now my ‘kids’ have ‘kids’ here, so that’s really fun.”
Students who have an alumni connection often end up experiencing parallel or similar Pepperdine moments.
Lilley said as an Economics major himself, he has experienced a lot of mirror moments with his dad also having been an Economics major.
“Last semester I had Professor [Robert] Sexton and he was one of my favorite teachers,” Lilley said. “He was also my dad’s advisor and they were friends when my dad went here and he knew my parents’ entire friend group so it was kind of funny comparing that. That definitely gave my dad and I something to laugh about.”
Following in his dad’s footsteps as a Pepperdine Men’s Volleyball player has afforded Tune the opportunity to feel more connected to his dad, Tune said.
“A lot of the time we have alumni come and give their past experiences,” Tune said. “Knowing that this is what my dad went through and knowing we share that kind of experience is special.”
Pepperdine being part of family history leads students to hearing lots of stories about the university growing up.
“I always remember hearing stories of my parents because they met at Pepperdine,” Woodward said. “My dad talked about how he proposed to my mom in one of the auditoriums playing piano for her, my sister would talk about Ralph’s beach, and I had no idea what that was but coming here put into perspective a lot of the stories that my family shared.”
Similarly, Simmons said her parents also met during their time together at Pepperdine.
“They got married at Stauffer Chapel and I’ve seen their wedding photo in the Pepperdine chapel,” Simmons said.
Le said having an alumni connection elevates the Pepperdine experience.
“Pepperdine is in our vernacular, our DNA, so my sons already came in with stories embedded in their psyche,” Le said. “For Corrine and I, although we loved to tell stories, we made sure that our sons got to have their own experiences.”
Fillback said there are similar experiences that she and her mom share too.
“Being here definitely reminds me a lot that my mom was also someone my age because sometimes it’s easy to forget that,” Fillback said. “I studied abroad in London, so I was in the same house she was in — and being in the exact same dorms or houses your parents were in is a pretty rare thing which has made me feel closer to her in that way, rather than just as a mom.”
Nehir said that similar to her mom, Pepperdine has become her safe space.
“Thinking about going to college was scary for me because of how close I am to my family,” Nehir said. “I’m glad I ultimately made the decision to go here. Pepperdine is what you make it and it has become my safe space, the same way Malibu is my mom’s comfort space.”
First-year Olivia Siluano stands for a family picture with her mom Lezbiz Tovar and cousins 2025. Siluano said she has always been very connected to Pepperdine. Photo courtesy of Olivia Siluano
One key experience Siluano shares with her mom is their work at OneStop, Siluano said.
“Before my mom was in IT, she was in OneStop and now I work there as a student job,” Siluano said. “I scan and file the documents and when she was there she used to be in charge of the documents and the student jobs of scanning and filing so now sometimes when I’m working I’ll see her [my mom] and be like that’s my mom.”
It’s truly special when students have alumni connections, Le said.
“One of the beautiful things about our students who have alumni connections in their families is we get to share the very best with our very best and that is such a blessing.”
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Contact Alicia Dofelmier via email: alicia.dofelmier@pepperdine.edu or via Instagram: @aliciadofelmierjournalism