On Saturday, Nov. 4, Saint Leo University brought it’s Homecoming Week to an unforgettable end with a highly anticipated bash in the SCC Bowl. The event featured food, fireworks, and live music performed by the popular group Smash Mouth.
The event, hosted by members of Alumni Engagement and Sustained Giving, kicked off at 4:30. Current students and alumni were reunited and shared in an afternoon of food and fun. Food trucks featuring pizza, burgers, grilled cheese, and more lined the perimeter of the bowl. There were plenty of games for children and families, like cornhole, and even a mechanical bull.
This year’s event actually reinstated the Homecoming tradition on campus, and Alumni weekend will now be held during the fall semester.
“We are bringing back a tradition that Saint Leo had many years ago,” explained Regina Belvin, the Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement and Sustained Giving. “We are reinstating Homecoming to give students and alumni a new way to come together.”
Many were happy to once again pal around with old friends that have graduated, including junior multimedia management major Michael Williams.
“I have a lot of friends who are alumni, and I was really hoping to see them all again,” explained Williams. “I also really love it when Saint Leo holds events like this, because everyone comes out of the woodwork and we can all have a little bit of fun.”
Of course, the big happening on everyone’s mind was the highly anticipated arrival of Smash Mouth, a music giant of the ‘90s.
“We wanted a band that both alumni and current students would know,” explained Belvin.
Many alumni grew up listening to their alternative jams, but those of the younger generation are only familiar with their music through goofy internet memes or the popular DreamWorks animated film “Shrek.”
“I never really got into their music,” laughed Williams. “But just because of the sheer meme presence of them online, a concert like this is something really unique.”
Keeping with the tradition, the evening ended with an awe-inspiring firework display over lake Jovita. Students seemed to enjoy the event, and Belvin and the rest of Alumni Engagement and Sustained Giving are looking forward to planning next year’s Homecoming celebration and making it bigger and better than the last.
