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Homecoming 2022 Wrap-Up

Nov. 14, 2022

Homecoming at Maryville College: There’s nothing like it. If you’ve ever been, you know. If you haven’t, you’re missing out.

With perfect weather, alumni from across generations, a parade, a children’s area, food trucks, info booths, milestone gatherings, dinners and socials, hugs, smiles, high fives and so much orange-and-garnet love that the campus was awash in it … this year’s Homecoming celebration was a welcomed return to full-throttle celebration after two years of COVID restrictions and cautions.

There were, of course, the flagstone events that make up every Homecoming: the Founder’s Day program, the Service of Remembrance, the Homecoming Choir performance and the football game, for example, but this year also included some new touches. The Blount County Alumni Association’s annual craft fair, for example, was christened in memory of Alvin C. Baker ’72, and the weekend officially began on Friday morning with the dedication of the Austin Coleman Piper Memorial Track, named in honor of the late Austin Coleman “Cole” Piper ’68, a longtime supporter and member of the MC Board of Directors who died unexpectedly in August 2021. In addition, a new alumni brunch event debuted on Saturday morning at the Clayton Center for the Arts, and milestone observances for the classes of 1962, 1972 and 1982 were held throughout the weekend.

Beyond the tangible gatherings, though, a sense of Scots pride descended upon the Maryville College campus throughout the weekend, such that the traditional Homecoming theme — “Home to Howee” — was personified in the beaming faces of those who passed through this institution and continue to feel such an attachment to the place in which they earned a degree … found themselves, lifelong friends and, sometimes, lifelong romantic partners … and a calling to do good on the largest possible scale.

Save the date: Homecoming 2023 is Oct. 20-22!

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Homecoming 2022

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Scenes from Homecoming 2022

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Maryville College is a nationally-ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges. For more than 200 years we’ve educated students to be giving citizens and gifted leaders, to study everything, so that they are prepared for anything — to address any problem, engage with any audience and launch successful careers right away. Located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville, Maryville College offers nearly 1,200  students from around the world both the beauty of a rural setting and the advantages of an urban center, as well as more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last. Today, our 10,000 alumni are living life strong of mind and brave of heart and are prepared, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”