GREENEVILLE – Homecoming at a higher education institution is best known for bringing alumni back to campus, but Tusculum University students played an equally important role in making this annual event a big success in 2024.
Student Penelope Lee enjoys a s’more during the Homecoming Kickoff Bonfire.
Students play bingo during a Homecoming event.
Student leaders advanced Homecoming to another level by taking the lead on multiple events that demonstrated school spirit. From game nights to a bonfire to participation in the parade, students were visible throughout the week.
“We were extremely impressed with the multiple ways our Pioneers enhanced the Homecoming atmosphere on campus,” said Chuck Sutton, associate vice president of student affairs and retention. “Watching our students embrace Homecoming and contributing to the celebration by spearheading many events reinforced why we are so proud of them.”
Evie Winfrey, the Student Government Association’s president and a senior majoring in accounting, said this year was the first time the SGA created Homecoming events, rather than the typical dress-up days, to encourage student involvement. One of the Institutional Advancement Office and SGA’s biggest goals in 2024 was to increase student, faculty and staff involvement in Homecoming events.
Student-led events began before the formal start of Homecoming. On Monday, Nov. 4, the SGA held Trivia Night, which encouraged students to work together in teams of two to four people to win prizes by answering questions themed around homecoming. The SGA then hosted Bingo Bonanza Tuesday, Nov. 5, during which students played this popular and well-known game in multiple formats.
The SGA held both events in The Pioneer Perk, a hangout space for students in the Scott M. Niswonger Commons.
Evie Winfrey, middle, the Student Government Association’s president, calls out numbers and letters during bingo. With her are student AnnaLee Simpson, left, and Katie Odoms, Tusculum’s coordinator of housing and student records.
“These events were more than we could have hoped for,” Winfrey said. “Since Tusculum is a small school, we try to encourage attendance and participation; however, we also understand the already rigorous schedule most of our students have. We would typically expect maybe somewhere in the 20s to 30s for participation but were amazed that the students at these events showed up and showed out. Our Trivia Night had a rough total of about 35 people, and our bingo night housed a little over 70 people.”
The SGA also hosted a Homecoming Kickoff Bonfire in the quad of the university’s apartments on Thursday, Nov. 7. This annual event was previously one of the only activities the students hosted. This year, a good crowd of students, and even some alumni, attended this event and enjoyed hot dogs, chips, s’mores and soft drinks.
To cap off Homecoming, The IA office held the annual Homecoming parade Saturday, Nov. 9. This year, a variety of student-led and community organizations participated. Student groups included the Pioneer cheer team, the Tusculum football team, as well as the 2024 Homecoming court. The football team led the parade along with the Greene County ROTC.
Winfrey helped organize the Homecoming court’s participation in the parade. This involved collaboration with the community members who drove the court in the parade, as well as Cheryl Fehl, senior director of grants and development for Institutional Advancement and the parade’s organizer.
David Evans, a senior pursuing bachelor’s degrees in accounting and economics, rode in the parade with the rest of the Homecoming court.
“It was wonderful to see familiar faces while I was at Homecoming,” he said. “Tusculum has done a great job advertising this event, and the turnout was great.”
Evans was crowned the 2024 Homecoming king during halftime of the football game that followed the parade. The SGA organized and ran the nominations and elections for the Homecoming court and oversaw the announcement of the winners and the decorations for that unveiling.
Events like the annual Homecoming parade and tailgate allowed for alumni and students to bond over their love for Tusculum. It gave students the opportunity to learn from people who had attended the university before and discover more about life after college.
Left to right, Malachi Ledford, Cheyenne Hewitt, AnnaLee Simpson and Morgan Martin participate in Trivia Night.
Left to right, David Evans, Jessica Silvers and Maria Torres ride in the Homecoming parade. Evans was selected as king, and Silvers was the reigning queen. Angela Sanchez was chosen as this year’s queen.
“It was great to see students and alumni celebrating together,” said sophomore Cheyenne Hewitt, who is majoring in communication with a concentration in theater and worked with the Tusculum dance team throughout the Homecoming festivities. “I was happy to see so many alumni coming back to support their alma mater.”
Many students expressed gratitude throughout Homecoming week for the alumni’s attendance this year. Whether they helped organize events or simply attended, the alumni’s presence was impactful on the student body.
“I absolutely believe student and alumni interaction is important,” Winfrey said. “How else would current students be able to learn, if not for the stories and experiences of those prior. Each class at Tusculum, whether from 1860 or 2020, has had a hand in making Tusculum what it is today. We should want to use the resources from alumni to help us learn and grow while we navigate our way through the positions that they were once in.”
Winfrey also emphasized the importance of student involvement in Homecoming this year.
“Although a university does include faculty and staff, it is truly students that make the difference,” she said. “Student involvement, especially in Homecoming, allows us to connect with one another, forming bonds and relationships we may not have made before. Essentially, Homecoming wouldn’t be able to happen without the voice of the students. With no one to nominate and vote, we wouldn’t be able to even uphold the tradition of king and queen or prince and princess. Student involvement in Homecoming gives us a chance to celebrate one another as well as Tusculum as a whole.”
To learn more about the university, please visit www.tusculum.edu.