‘A special place in my heart’: Reunion Homecoming unveils first All Alumni Day

Published Oct. 28, 2024, 10:18 p.m., last updated Oct. 28, 2024, 10:19 p.m.

Thousands of alumni gathered at Stanford this weekend for Reunion Homecoming, reminiscing around campus and engaging in events hosted by the Stanford Alumni Association. 

Reunion Homecoming, which lasted from Thursday through Sunday, included events such as Classes Without Quizzes, a football tailgate, Multicultural Alumni Hall of Fame Reception, campus tours and Dinner on the Quad, many specifically for alumni whose graduating years end with nine and four.

This year, Reunion Homecoming included a new event called All Alumni Day, in which undergraduate and graduate alumni from different classes participated in activities together. 

“We’re introducing [All Alumni Day] so that we could actually engage, invite and engage a broader swath of our Stanford alumni community,” Victor Madrigal ’94, director of alumni and student class outreach, told The Daily. 

Chris Chelberg ’10 attended Reunion Homecoming for All Alumni Day and appreciated the intermingling of classes. 

“I got to see a bunch of people [at a FloMo reunion] from a couple years around me, and so that was a lot of fun,” he said.

Another new event this year was Farm Fest, a family-friendly outdoor festival with live music, games and booths from various Stanford departments, that allowed alumni to soak up the “Stanford spirit,” Madrigal said.

President Jonathan Levin ’94, who celebrated his 30th reunion this year, addressed alumni in Memorial Auditorium on Friday. 

“I love reunion because it is a chance to come back and to revisit the campus and all of the people that you were with and all of the areas around the campus that you can remember,” Levin said. 

Stanford and Stanford alumni have made significant progress since his freshman year, but the feeling of being at Stanford has remained the same, Levin said. The consistency of the “Stanford feeling” was a sentiment echoed by several alumni. 

“[Campus] feels very similar to me, honestly, strikingly similar,” Omar Ezzine ’14 said. “I was just walking around… [and I saw] a lot of the same restaurants in Tressider. [There’s] still Subway, there’s still Panda Express.” 

Ten years after his graduation, Stanford still means a lot to Tim Truong ’14.

“It was a really formative time for me,” Truong said. “So [it’s] a very important part of my identity now as a person. The time I spent here, the people I met here and the experiences I had hold a special place in my heart.” 

Randall Morris ’70, M.D. ’76, who is married to Kay Goenne Morris ’69, also reminisced about his Stanford days.

For Morris, being back on campus “brings back a lot of memories, which you normally don’t think of day to day until you see the environment and then it all comes back,” he said. “And it’s really hard to imagine that 50 years ago I was riding my bike around [campus].”

Despite all the fond memories, Morris said that his favorite is meeting his wife. 

“By far the best was that,” he said, pointing to a pin saying “I met my wife at Stanford.”

Despite Reunion Homecoming being oriented towards alumni, Madrigal acknowledged student participation as a core aspect of the event. According to Madrigal, approximately 200 students did paid work such as setting up tailgates, driving golf carts, providing alumni with directions and helping organize events. Student-run groups, such as FLiCKS and Stanford’s FM radio KZSU, also worked with the Stanford Alumni Association to provide entertainment.

Student workers Anushka De ’26 and Christina Ba ’26 worked two shifts throughout the weekend to connect with alumni and understand what the weekend was about. 

“Everyone here asks you if Stanford is still the most fun, and it’s really cute,” De said.

Ba enjoyed talking to alumni from diverse backgrounds and places. She realized how valuable students’ time at Stanford is. Morris gave students advice on approaching it.

“Just take it day by day because you can’t control the arc of time,” he said.

Naomi Breuer is a writer for news. Contact news 'at' stanforddaily.com.

Sophia Chu is a writer for The Grind. Contact grind 'at' stanforddaily.com.

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