The Colgate community welcomed alumni back to the university this past weekend to attend the slate of homecoming events that were hosted on campus and catch up with current undergraduate students and faculty. The weekend consisted of sporting events, school celebration, and a homecoming reception hosted by the Africana, Latin, Asian, and Native American (ALANA) Cultural Center and LGBTQ+ initiatives. 

The festivities began Friday, October 4, with a luncheon hosted by the Colgate Professional Networks Club and Colgate Presidents’ Club. The two clubs hosted the Career Connections luncheon event that centered around Colgate alum sharing professional advice to those in attendance.

As part of Colgate’s EnvironmentalStudies Brown Bag series, the program hosted landscape ecologist and Colgate graduate Jeff Hepinstall-Cymerman. Hepinstall-Cymerman graduated with Honors in Biology in 1990. At his presentation, Hepinstall-Cymerman spoke on his professional work, as an ecologist at the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia. According to Hepinstall-Cymerman, the hands-on research experience he gained during his undergraduate years studying Biology at Colgate continues to impact his career today. 

On Saturday, October 5, four of Colgate’s Division I sports teams faced off against rival schools. Women’s soccer, men’s hockey and men’s football all lost their matches, however,women’s hockey came out unscathed, tying with Mercyhurst University 3-3.   

This Homecoming was the first for the Class of 2019 graduates who returned back to campus, but many dedicated alumni have been coming back to Hamilton to celebrate Colgate for years.Recent graduates from the Class of 2019, Max Michael and Jayne Maccio, both returned to campus for the first time since the class’ graduation ceremony in May. 

“Coming back to campus is amazing, every location is a destination. First, I have to see my crew at the Speedway station, then I had to text Officer Chapman and Sergeant Alt and see if they were working. If you were lucky enough to get a package from the mailroom from 12-1 on the Friday of homecoming you’d have seen me reliving my glory days as a mailroom clerk,” Michael said. “The rest of the time I was wandering campus and stopping at my old hangout spots, special shout out to OUS house and Frank. The best part of homecoming for me was to revisit the physical spaces that I spent time at Colgate. It’s so cool to see other students enjoying the places on campus that mean a lot to you. I’m glad that those buildings can mean something special to the future generations of Colgate students.” 

Initially, Maccio was unsure if she was going to be able to come back to Hamilton for the university’s festivities but is glad she made the trip. 

“My first homecoming was great! I saw so many people I would not have seen 

otherwise since we’re all scattered across different states,” Maccio said. “I felt like I did not miss a beat and was able to pick up right where I left off with people when we graduated this May. Even though we are all off doing different things in different places it is so unique to see everyone come back to Hamilton and feel as though they never left.”  

Former trustee, Maurice Eaton, has come back to Colgate for 40 of the past 60 Colgate homecoming celebrations and goes to nearly every Raider football game. Even though Eaton resides in Kinnelon, New Jersey, he still manages to be a dedicated Colgate Athletics fan. 

“We go to almost every football game. It feels wonderful. It makes me feel like I am twenty years old again,” Eaton said.