On the weekend of October 24-26th at UMass Amherst, the student body celebrated Homecoming; a schoolwide celebration built on pride, spirit, and tradition. Events were held throughout the weekend where students could connect, have fun, and win free swag while being reminded of what it means to be a UMass Minuteman. Collaborating with other student organizations on campus, we were able to come together and enjoy a successful Homecoming. Here in the Student Alumni Association, students in EBoard and cabinet positions played crucial roles to ensure the success of these events. This included taking the time to plan every detail of the events and then working them. While working these events members displayed school spirit while efficiently collaborating with others to achieve a common goal.

Some of the events celebrated include the Homecoming Spirit Kick-off, Homecoming Block Party, and Homecoming Parade. In collaboration with the UMass Programming Council the SAA philanthropy branch lead by Sarah Cotton ‘21 organized and prepared for the Homecoming Spirit Kickoff held in the Campus Center. Planning for this event began in July, and included designing and ordering promotional materials that would be handed out at the event. During this event, students wrote letters to alumni to thank them for giving back to the UMass community. Around 700 students attended this event and 1200 cards of appreciation were written. 

The SAA station at the Homecoming Block Party event was lead by Jillian Smick ‘21,  and was organized, managed, and worked by the traditions branch. During this event, students went from table to table socializing and making crafts to enhance their UMass experience. Alumni were also invited back to campus where they too had the opportunity to engage with students and enjoy the interactive stations and activities this event had to offer.  

The Homecoming Parade brought many Alumni and their families back to campus where they mingled with the locals to watch the parade. This year we were fortunate to have Alumnus Shannon Emmett ‘19, Jamie Downer ‘19, and Colleen Madden ‘18 walk in the parade with SAA as respected Alumni. The Homecoming Parade brought many student organizations on campus together where they united with pride and marched together around UMass and through the Amherst town center along the 2-mile route.

 Another aspect of Homecoming was the Homecoming Royalty Court, this consisted of ten juniors who got the opportunity to participate in exclusive homecoming events. The selected Homecoming Royalty Court had the opportunity to experience Homecoming in a new light with exclusive events and special access to general student events. These events include the Homecoming Spirit Kickoff, Homecoming Speaker event, Block Party, Chancellor’s Breakfast, Parade, Tailgate tent and Crowning Ceremony at McGuirk Alumni Stadium. During these events, the Royalty Court presented themselves as a diverse and outstanding group of individuals who demonstrated role model student qualities while representing the UMass Student Body. Out of the 10 selected Stacey Muanya ’21 and Kieto Mahaniah ’21 were crowned on the field as the 2019 Homecoming Royalty.

Vivian Tran ’21, member of the Homecoming Royalty Court states, “Being on the Homecoming Court enhanced my UMass experience by opening up my network. I had the opportunity to meet other UMass students from my junior class and learned about many other organizations that they were involved with. Coming together, it was great to see our involvement on campus take action in many different ways”. From Vivian’s experience applying for the Homecoming, Royalty court is definitely something future Juniors should consider and there is no harm in applying!

Megan Phillips ’22

Publications Coordinator