Homecoming is not always about the football game or crowning the King and Queen. It is also about reunions for those who have graduated.
To help kickoff this festive-filled weekend, the Kean University Alumni Association hosted the annual Greek Alumni Reunion, which was held on Friday, September 30, 2016.
The reunion was hosted in the North Avenue Academic Building (NAAB), and plenty of people came to mingle with old friends and, of course, brothers and sisters.
"The point of this reunion is to help keep Greek alumni engaged within the community," comments Stella Maher, the Director of Alumni Relations. "This is the opportunity for alumni to reconnect."
The theme for homecoming was Once Upon a Time, and dinner for the night followed that theme. It was a buffet styled dinner, so attendees could choose what they like. There were several tables with different themes from popular fairy tales and other children's books such as: a Three Little Pigs table (which presented chocolate covered bacon), a Snow White table (which presented caramel and candy apples) and a Rapunzel table (which presented different kinds of pasta).
Attendees enjoyed the themed tables, especially the Snow White table. But what people enjoyed the most was seeing old colleagues. Excitement filled the room as everyone greeted one another.
"One of the most active, cohesive groups on campus, as well as one of the most social, is Greek Organization," said Edward Esposito, President of the Alumni Association. Esposito is an alumni of Kean University, who graduated in 1969 as an undergraduate and again in 1972 as a graduate student. He is also a brother of Simga Beta Tau, a fraternity that was founded on campus and is still active.
"This reunion helps maintain relationships," said Esposito, who just finished talking to his big brother -- otherwise known as a mentor in a fraternity or big sister in a sorority. "[My mentor] came all the way from Florida."
Another member of a Greek Organization came from Palau, a country not too far from Indonesia.
The Greek Alumni Reunion is not like any other reunion. As Maher put it, "regardless of his or her graduation date, one can still connect with others" because of how social all Greeks are. Everyone knows everyone. Once someone becomes a Greek, he or she is always a Greek.
