Homecoming week this year will be held virtually as COVID-19 protocols are administered throughout the university — a change that may allow for alumni from all over to participate in homecoming activities.
This year’s virtual homecoming week activities are a multitude of events that range from speed networking and yoga/meditation to a socially-distanced luncheon and a cocktail social.
“Homecoming week encompasses alumni, students, faculty, staff, friends and the community, but mostly alumni. For the alumni association, alumni and reunion weekend is our signature event where we invite alumni to come home to Winthrop for the weekend, where we celebrate class reunions from the 5th to the 75th reunion and we welcome alumni back to campus where affinity groups can gather. We host a myriad of events throughout the week,” Executive Director of Alumni Relations and Reunion Giving Lori Tuttle said.
The Alumni Association Staff plans to implement homecoming week virtually this year.
“Starting on Nov. 9 through Nov. 14, we’ll be offering a myriad of events that alumni can participate in, whether that’s a live event via one of our social media platforms or prerecorded from our end that we’re pushing out to alumni to participate in,” Tuttle said.
This year’s planning process for the Alumni Association staff differed from years past.
“Typically for in-person homecoming, it’s the same challenges every year, it’s the same logistics, but we can anticipate a lot of the planning that we sit down and do together face to face. It’s a lot of meetings with campus facilities, with campus catering. This year we are all meeting virtually. We have taken a lot of ideas from other schools. We have an alumni network in the Big South [conference]…so we’ve leaned on our friends to ask what they’re doing for their virtual homecomings,” she said. “Through the planning process, we have been very mindful to offer events that speak to all of our alumni. So, not just young alumni, not just our more seasoned alumni, but alumni of every generation that have every kind of affinity from Winthrop.”
While homecoming week looks different this year, it is now accessible to alumni from all over.
“We do have some more events to come that will be more affinity based for our alumni so it’s been very different because we want to offer something everyday and keep Winthrop on the tip of our Alumni’s tongues the entire week of virtual homecoming. And with alumni not coming back to campus, that’s been a different challenge for us of ‘what can we offer alumni that will speak to them?’” Tuttle said. “Our goal in the schedule that we’re putting together is to offer something for everyone and not box in any events to one specific time and one kind of event.”
Winthrop class of 2013 alumnae Shelby Banks, who earned a Bachelor of history and a concentration in print journalism said, “I don’t live in the area anymore so I haven’t been able to come to homecoming in a long time. This way, I feel like it’s a way that I can even participate without having to physically be there.”
The Alumni Association is also able to raise awareness of homecoming week with the help of their very own alumni volunteers.
“We’re also working with alumni to be social media ambassadors and influencers, so we’ve put together a tool kit for those alumni that can really share our story and our events and what we have planned for the week…we lean on our alumni volunteers to help us with everything you see in the alumni association. We’ll lean on alumni association ambassadors to help us get the word out,” Tuttle said.
The Alumni Association staff has had to adjust how events are implemented for homecoming week this year but plan on applying some of the same strategies to homecoming events in the future.
“I think some of what we’re doing this year may sit going forward which is exciting to us. We’re definitely looking at this very unique time as a glass that’s half-full and it’s given us a chance to do some new virtual events that we just really hadn’t had the capacity to do in the past,” Tuttle said.
Alumni Engagement Coordinator Brittany Neely explained the effect that the alumni association staff would like to have on Winthrop alumni this year.
“They remember that we’re here even when they can’t come in person and celebrate homecoming reunion weekend or really anything on campus, that we’re still here virtually and we’re offering so many different things to participate in so they can
still do a lot of things that aren’t available to them in person…there’s a lot of other things that we’re offering them and we’re still here for them however we can help.”
“I was really excited to see them kind of take that initiative because I feel like for the most part, the university has been taking the virus seriously, so I’m glad that they are still finding a way to have homecoming and get everybody together but still keeping everybody safe,” Banks said.
Winthrop’s virtual homecoming week will be held Nov. 9-14. To view the full schedule and get more information on 2020 Virtual Homecoming Week, visit https://www.winthrop.edu/homecoming/.
Image courtesy to Winthrop Alumni Association.
