Greetings ’RooNation! Homecoming and Family Weekend 2016 was well-attended and filled with renewed friendships, countless connections, and precious fellowship. As I interacted with alumni of all ages, a frequently expressed sentiment was the feeling that Austin College really knows them, once as students and now as alumni. I kept thinking about this and pondered what it means to be part of a place that knows you, a knowledge that transcends time and creates our Austin College community.
Reflect back, for a moment, to that day you received your acceptance letter from Austin College. Your name is written along with the promise of a bright collegiate future, and you realized: Austin College knows you.
Reminisce about your student years at Austin College. You made lifelong friends, maybe found your sweetheart, completed course work, joined groups, and earned degrees. Your name was read at Commencement, and you hit the world with the confidence that Austin College knows you.
Time flows; you live your life, returning to Austin College for Homecomings, graduations, or in service to the College. You see your name on badges, giving lists, letters, and perhaps even in the legacy of children and grandchildren who graduate from Austin College. You marvel at the continuity and realize that even as time passes, Austin College knows you.
Years fly by, and the moment arrives when each of us must depart from this world—a world made better by your contributions, many were shaped by Austin College. And when your life is over, your name will be read aloud at the Homecoming Service in Wynne Chapel, followed by the ethereal tinkle of a bell. And with that speaking of your name, even from another realm, you realize Austin College knows you.
Celebrate your relationship with Austin College by connecting through AlumNights and other alumni events. Austin College knows you! Make plans to see your friends at Homecoming 2017, October 13 – 15. Austin College knows them!
Support the magic of Austin College with a gift of any size before June 2017 and make a difference for others—so Austin College will know them!
In all ways a ’Roo, always,
Jeanne (Holland) Thoes ’84
Alumni Board President