Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College alums and their families attended the circus-themed Homecoming 2017, and they were treated to a day of merrymaking.
Saturday’s event, now in its 10th year, opened with an exciting Western Equestrian Show and ended with a spectacular choir and band concert presented by the SMWC Music and Theatre Department. In between were fun activities including a magic show, animal show, face painting, wagon rides, athletic events, tours, food and music inside the beer and brat tent.
For Sandy Patrick of Indianapolis, a graduate of the class of 2006, attending her first Homecoming was not only about coming “home” to a campus she loves, but also about showing her kids the wonders of SMWC. “We love it here. My daughter plays soccer and she wants to play soccer here one day, so I wanted to bring her to see a soccer game,” Patrick said.
Patrick brought Leah, 11, and Tristan, 2, along to experience the “feeling of friends and love and family,” she said. Her daughter was impressed. “The campus is huge and it’s so pretty,” Leah said.
Other little members of the SMWC family were also in attendance. Twins Kinsley and Hailey, both 6-weeks-old, tagged along with mom Amanda Simons-Torres ’05, to her first Homecoming. Kinsley even sported an SMWC shirt. The family traveled from Sunman, a small Indiana town near the Ohio border.
Torres, accompanied by husband Andrew, said she hopes her girls will one day attend The Woods. “It couldn’t have been a better experience,” she said of her Woods education. “It’s home. I loved the small class sizes. I love everything about the campus.”
But Homecoming wasn’t just a family outing for Torres. It was also a chance to reunite with two other close friends from college. One of them, Kelly Fink Miles ’05, traveled 11 hours from Hamburg, Pennsylvania to see Torres and Jessie McFarland ’05 of Greencastle. The trio hasn’t seen each other in three years and enjoyed reminiscing.
Guests at Homecoming had much to see: a soccer game, a volleyball game and a softball game between SMWC softball alumni and current Pomeroys. SMWC President Dottie L. King, Ph.D., threw the first pitch, a Homecoming tradition.
They also attended a short ceremony blessing the new crosses atop Le Fer Hall, Guerin Hall and the Conservatory of Music. Several people participated in the hunt for painted rocks around campus dubbed, #TheWoodsRocks, a new addition to Homecoming.
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