News from campus and beyond
Students make new memories and alumni reminisce at Furman Homecoming
Shaniece Criss, associate professor of health science, joins her family on the “Sizzler” ride during the Homecoming Carnival on Oct. 24. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University.
Homecoming might be behind us, but the memories Furman University students make each year last a lifetime.
Maybe that’s why registration was up among alumni returning to campus to celebrate alongside the current crop of students.
Friday night’s carnival was busy with alumni, students, faculty, staff and families. Participation from alumni and relatives of students appeared up across the board, said Lauren Pollino, assistant director of alumni engagement. Nearly 1,500 alumni registered for homecoming events this year, Pollino said, and that number doesn’t capture individual reunion events or alumni who attended, but didn’t register.
“Furman is all about relationships,” said Ford Riddle, director of alumni engagement. “Alumni wanted the nostalgia of being back on the mall, building floats, connecting with former classmates and visiting with faculty and staff who were key mentors in their lives.”
Furman students and alumni celebrated traditions and made new memories all weekend long, whether by making the campus pop with color by chalking the sidewalks, attaching chicken wire to wooden frames to build floats, hopping on amusement rides at the Homecoming Carnival, sampling Furman’s new Bonhomie wines, reuniting at a tailgate or cheering on the Paladins across five athletic events over the weekend. One featured game was the first contest in the newly renovated Timmons Arena. A sold-out house watched the Furman men’s basketball team play an exhibition game against the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Paladins played a gritty game but came up short against the 15th-ranked Tide 96-71.
