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Homecoming 2018

Homecoming 2018: Remembering the Past, Planning for the Future

Mary Mangieri Burgland '68 served as the Class of 1968 speaker at Homecoming Convocation. “Ours was a generation of sea change in American culture,” she said, pointing out that leaders including the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated during the Class of 1968’s college days.

“We came [to Knox] with our skirts, sports jackets, short hair, and left with slacks, sandals, beads, and long hair,” Burgland recalled. “We made it through some of the most tumultuous years of the recent past.”

“In looking out over this group of ours, I see classmates that I know have made the world a better place,” she added, saying that she believes they will all work to continue doing that.

Jason and Elizabeth Flanders Monaco '98 are marking their 20-year Class Reunion. When they arrived at Knox on Friday afternoon, they were looking forward to seeing friends and former professors, attending the Prairie Fire football game, and going to Reunion get-togethers.

One of their favorite memories is meeting at the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity house, even though neither belonged to TKE.

What’s it like being at Knox again? “Some things are very different, but it’s always nice to be back on campus,” said Jason. “It makes you feel young to come back,” said Elizabeth.

As a member of the Knox Board of Trustees, Joe Bastian '67 visits campus a few times a year. Knox is “a very special place,” he said.

“I think it really was fundamental to my evolution and growth as an adult,” he said. “Knox is the kind of place where you can come and try out a lot of different things and figure out what fits and what works with you.”

Kiiri Tietjens '98 hadn’t been back on campus since her five-year Class Reunion 15 years ago. “I just wanted to come back and see Knox. I have really fond memories of when I was here,” she said.

As of Friday afternoon, she already had toured the Whitcomb Art Center and was impressed by it. She looked forward to checking out the restored Alumni Hall, singing in the Choir for Homecoming Convocation, and seeing classmates.

Her favorite Knox memories include “late-night eats in the Gizmo, listening to jazz on Thursday nights at Cherry Street, and late-night study groups in SMC.”

Homecoming Awards

The traditional Homecoming Convocation on Saturday morning began with a processional by members of the Class of 1968, who are celebrating their 50th Class Reunion. More than 100 of them walked into Kresge Recital Hall as a recording of Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’” played in the background.

Later, the Class of 1968 presented the College with an oversized check that represents the classmates’ combined gift of more than $806,500.

Also as part of Homecoming Convocation, several awards were announced:

  • The Ralph Walter Prize to the Class of 1968 for the highest percentage of alumni donating to the College.
  • The Homecoming Attendance Award to the Class of 1968 for having the largest number (a record-breaking 107, as of Friday night) of registered class members at Homecoming.
  • Knox Service Awards to Susan Blew '75, Rob Clark '95, and Cathy Kucik Heimann '70. Service Awards are given to members of the Knox community in recognition of outstanding volunteer service benefiting the College.
  • The Steven Floyd Fellowship Award to Beatriz Jimenez '19.

For more photos of Knox Homecoming 2018, check the Knox Flickr page