Come Home for Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, Oct. 4-7

What does it mean to “Come Home”? Like the smell of your favorite meal cooking, or the feel of your most comfortable sweatshirt – home is more than just a place, it’s an emotion and reaction to something heartfelt. We all once called Valparaiso University home. And when the weather turns cooler and the crisp wind rustles the red and orange leaves to the ground, Valpo calls you back home once again. This year, come home to your memories at an expanded Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, Oct. 4-7, and new events that promise to have you reminisc­ing about the time back when Valpo was your home.

You are encouraged to begin the memory-making on Thursday this year, with Homecoming and Reunion Weekend registration and reunion gathering rooms for the classes of 1957 and 1982. Browse yearbooks from your years at Valpo and recall the days when home meant ringing the Victory Bell after games or meeting in the Valparaiso Union for dinner.

Take advantage of the new reunion sessions and tours offered this year on Friday – explore the things that keep Valpo close to your heart, such as the arts and the Chapel of the Resurrection. Learn about the ways the campus is evolving to encourage new students to make this place their home. Also on Friday, you will have the opportunity to dine with VU President Alan Harre before his retirement. Bring a blanket and your classmates and find a good location Friday night for a fireworks spectacular.

A staple of Homecoming weekends throughout the decades, be sure to attend the football game Saturday afternoon – but first stop by the Valpo tailgate, at a new location this year on the southeast lawn of the Athletics-Recreation Center. Gather a group of your classmates together and cheer your alma mater on to victory as you did when you were a student.

Nothing feels better when you return to Valpo than coming home to familiar faces. Greet those faces Saturday night when reunion gatherings take over the city of Valparaiso. Your reunion will provide the perfect occasion to reminisce, reflect, and recharge your Valpo spirit. All class years ending in a two or seven have special celebrations planned on Saturday afternoon and evening. The night culminates in a new event, the all-alumni celebration where all who once called the campus of Valpo home will gather for a festive evening of fun.

Your weekend back home comes to a close on Sunday, a day that begins with an alumni association breakfast, class procession and the annual Homecoming and Reunion Weekend worship service in the Chapel of the Resurrection.

What does it mean to “Come Home”? Home is a place of comfort, where the sights may have changed but the feelings remain; a place where you feel like you belong. You belong back at home in October – back at Valpo.

Find all Homecoming and Reunion Weekend infor­ma­tion online at valpo.edu/alumni/homecoming.

Alumni from the classes of 1958 and 1983 are invited to join the planning committees for their 50th and 25th reunions in 2008. Help shape your experience by designing the reunion weekend. Contact the VU Office of Alumni Relations at 800.833.6792, ext. 23, or send an e-mail to alumni@valpo.edu.