University of Dayton - MyLife

Summertime at UD

This past weekend I took advantage of my couple days off from work and drove to UD to visit some of my friends. Many of them are living on campus this summer, either working, taking classes, or both. So, I figured it would be fun to visit them in their houses/dorms/apartments and get to experience what campus is like in the summer. A few other friends decided to come from their hometowns as well, so it was a fun reunion between a bunch of my friends and I. What we didn't realize, however, was that campus was already buzzing with reunions...

When I arrived on campus, I quickly realized that this wasn't going to be a typical summer weekend at UD. This weekend was special, it was "Reunion Weekend" for all of the alumni celebrating anywhere from their 5 to 60 year reunions from graduating UD. I couldn't believe the amount of people on campus, and how widespread their ages were. It was so awesome to see people of all ages walking through campus and the student neighborhoods admiring and observing everything that has changed since they went to college here. Yet, at the same time time, you could tell how happy they were to be back for a weekend. The Alumni's presence on campus created such a feeling of school pride and unity, too. Everywhere my friends and I went, we'd pass alumni and just yell, "GO FLYERS!" or "Welcome Back!" or "WE ARE...UD!" and they would respond with just as much enthusiasm back to us.

We would occasionally be lucky enough to stop and talk to a group of alumni, which was a blast. They would tell us their stories from their college days, we'd ask them where they were now, what their major was, and they'd tell us how much campus has changed, and the crazy things they used to do when they were here. It's hard to believe, but many things were still the same. Sure, UD has expanded a bit, but the community is just as strong as it's always been. We even got to hear the story of a couple who graduated in 1970 and got married at the University of Dayton Chapel while they were still in school! Okay, so maybe things have changed a little...people are definitely not as likely to get married as early as they used to.

Anyway, it turned out to be a better weekend than I could have expected. I was only planning on staying until Saturday afternoon but ended up staying until Sunday just because I didn't want to leave my friends! Aside from the alumni throughout campus that weekend, I could tell that summer at UD is definitely a unique time. Since the amount of people on campus is so much smaller, it creates a great community between everyone. To me it felt like a normal weekend at school, just a lot smaller and more close-knit...a very neat experience. It made me think twice about going home next summer...I might just have to stay on campus and experience it for myself. I only have two more years left until I'll be awaiting my class reunion like the alumni I saw this weekend, so I might as well get as much of UD as I can while I have the time!

Jun 11, 2007 7:47 PM Permalink