I believe I went to my 10th reunion for D’Youville College and I was the only one representing my class. Other than that, I only went to donor’s Masses (most years) and the occasional tea. But this year I actually volunteered to reach out to my classmates, and my wife and I attended a handful of the many Homecoming events.
Like myself, almost no one kept in touch with more than one or two people. We just weren’t a cohesive class, although I reunited on social media with a number of people from the class the year after me whom I had known better. A small number of people I remembered by name; one remembered me fondly for sitting up in the tree outside the dorm. But at the events, I really hit it off with one of the alums from two decades earlier, and there was some mutual recognition of familiarity due to being at other events over the years.
We were treated like royalty. We took advantage of a caricature artist, ate plenty of hors d’oeuvre, took a bus tour of the now-expansive campus, and had lunch in the crazy-futuristic whatever-it-is-called-now Porterview Room. In fact, if there were a hundred names for different kinds of seats and chairs and stools, you’d have to use every one being here. There were study spaces and nooks everywhere, in buildings old and new, and it seemed like even the classrooms were like lounges.
The services for the students and community are prolific. I think St. Marguerite would be proud. And I got to talk to President Clemo a bit, hoping we can find a way for me to contribute my time and talents to various initiatives.
All in all, the campus was so far beyond anything I remember, yet felt more like I wanted it to be than at any other time I had been there since I graduated.