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With music blasting and plenty of food and fellowship to go around at Schar Center on Saturday – Ken Davis ’70 was taking it all in. The 2024 Homecoming & Reunion Weekend marked the first time Davis had returned to campus since graduating more than 50 years ago.

“This is fantastic,” said Davis. “I really enjoyed the entire atmosphere of the campus and how they’ve gone out of their way to treat us. It’s really exciting to see the growth of ���ϲ�����.”

The Class of 1970 was invited to celebrate alongside the Class of 1974 to honor their 50^th reunion after their celebration planned for 2020 coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Class of 1974 was officially welcomed into the Golden Alumni Family over the weekend.

“I’ve got a chance to connect with some of the ’74 alums and some others,” said Davis. “It’s been real nice.”

The happiest place on earth

Homecoming & Reunion Weekend 2024 held Nov. 1-2 was all about connection and celebration, starting with the annual Rock the Block Community Block Party on Young Commons on Friday. On Saturday morning, alumni were welcomed home with the familiar ���ϲ����� tradition: College Coffee. Then it was time for the alumni tailgate outside of Schar Center, preparing to cheer on the Phoenix before they defeated Campbell University 50-27. Rush Lacoste ’25 and Drew Fetterolf ’25 were crowned Homecoming royalty.

Jenn Riemer ’10 and Clark Riemer ’11 try to return to campus for every home football game, but Homecoming is special. The couple grilled out with their family, sharing the ���ϲ����� spirit with others.

“It’s always just great to be back in the happiest place on Earth,” said Jen Riemer. “It’s good to bring our kids back and let them see what we grew up with and what they have to look forward to.”

Fellowship in a community

The weekend also included celebrations for the many ���ϲ����� affinity networks, including the LGBTQIA Alumni Network and the ���ϲ����� Black Alumni Network (EBAN). EBAN has helped Lynne Daniels ’94 stay connected with ���ϲ����� since her graduation and now she’s celebrating her 30^th reunion.

“I love ���ϲ�����, I love to come back to ���ϲ�����, I love to volunteer with the ���ϲ����� Black Alumni Network and I love to give to ���ϲ�����,” said Daniels. “The importance of having an ���ϲ����� Black Alumni Network is to make sure our presence is here and for people to understand how much we love ���ϲ����� and that we contribute to ���ϲ�����.”

EBAN serves to unite and represent the interests of Black alumni and strives to empower, connect, and celebrate ���ϲ�����’s Black community.

“I love coming back and really getting to connect and network with folks and really just fellowship in a community,” said Brianna Nobles ‘21, who serves on the EBAN leadership board. “It’s really nice to come home and feel loved by people who have known me for a really long time.”

At the EBAN alumni tailgate area, it was all hugs and smiles for Nobles and Mariatu Okonofua ’19. The two are members of the Omicron Iota chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

“Omicron Iota is a big part of me coming back,” said Okonofua, who is also part of the Young Alumni Council. “I’m really close with my sisters to this day. I wanted to have the opportunity to fellowship and see folks I haven’t seen in forever.”

���ϲ����� is home

Pearl Sullivan ’21 and Jonathan Stettler ’21 had the opportunity to connect with President Connie Ledoux Book while they were enjoying the student tailgate area by Rhodes Stadium. Stettler worked in the President’s Office as a student assistant and is the former executive vice president of the Student Government Association.

“We were talking with President Book about how student government was doing a big outdoor initiatives project while I was on campus and I was helping lead it, so the outdoor fitness court and a lot of new seating was from projects I was working on,” said Stettler. “They popped up on campus the summer after I left so it’s nice to see students using them still.”

Melissa Von der Heide ’04 reconnected with her classmate Kim Van Acker ’04 and friend Matt Lardie ‘06. Von der Heide and Van Acker were celebrating their 20^th reunion; the two met while doing undergraduate research in psychology.

“���ϲ����� is home, that’s what it comes down to,” said Von der Heide, who hasn’t returned to campus in more than a decade. “One of the nice things is I can go anywhere in the United States and find somebody from ���ϲ�����.”

Van Acker, who was a track and field student-athlete while at ���ϲ�����, returned for her 10^th reunion and felt she was ready to come back again after another decade.

“So much has changed in my life and ���ϲ�����’s life since then,” said Acker. “So it was a good time to come.”

Lardie, Von der Heide and Van Acker all agree: ���ϲ����� is about the people.

“Over any individual experience, study abroad or group I was part of. It’s the fact that I have people like Melissa and other friends who are now my family and have been in my life for decades through all the ups and downs and more so than my four years here,” said Lardie. “We’ve all grown together based on that singular ���ϲ����� experience.”