The title of this regular feature always makes me smile and sigh with relief, because I am very glad a picture of my desk does not accompany the article!

Most days, my desk is covered with reference material, schedules, marketing samples, meeting notes and plans for the upcoming year. In reality, it’s been that way since we announced earlier this year that we would be hosting an in-person commencement ceremony in May. That announcement brought a flurry of excitement and opened the door to cautiously planning in-person events moving forward.

We hosted our first Senior Toast with President and Mrs. Einolf and a groundbreaking luncheon for the Zollner Engineering Center expansion and renovation project. Our first Tech Me Out to the Ballgame event was held at the Lafayette Aviators Ballpark in Lafayette, Indiana, for alumni and students. We had a fun-filled night and great turn out. Shout out to the alumni and family who came to the event—it was great to meet you. It was fantastic to add these events to our schedule.

The alumni board continued online efforts by hosting two Warrior Alumni Video Meetup events—one for alumni athletes and the other for those who graduated between 2011 and 2021. If you would like to see more virtual events like this, or assist with an alumni board event, please reach out to alumni@indianatech.edu.

The excitement shows no sign of letting up as we prepare for this fall’s schedule of Homecoming 2021 events. Now—drum roll!

TWIST XXXII, Sept. 19: We are back at Chestnut Hills Golf Club with a noon shotgun start. Registration is underway and Dr. Walls is waiting on delivery of this year’s signature TWIST hats. If you plan to play, sign up before Aug. 31 to take advantage of the early registration fee. We are anticipating another sell-out year, so click here to register.

Homecoming 2021, Sept. 27 through Oct. 2: This year’s schedule is packed with ample opportunities to reconnect with old friends, celebrate and have some fun. A few favorites return—the President’s Dinner and our Athletic Hall of Fame celebration, both of which will be held on campus in the Schaefer Center. New events this year include the first-ever Trivia Throwdown for alumni and students (hosted by Indiana Tech’s student chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers), a Fireside Party with a cornhole tournament, Friday night Alumni Tent with bar service, the WHAC Commissioner’s Cup presentation and more! View the entire schedule of events at our Homecoming 2021 site.

Reunion Activities for 2021: A highlight of homecoming is enjoying time with our special reunion classes. This year we will be honoring our 60-, 50-, 35-, 25-, 20- and 10-year reunion classes. We hope that many alumni will join us on campus to celebrate. Specific reunion activities include: Reunion Welcome Event, Prayer Service and the very special Reunion Recognition Luncheon on Saturday, Oct. 2.  Click on this link to let us know that you will be returning to celebrate: Reunion 2021 Registration.

Alumni Affinity Meetups during homecoming: New this year, we will host three small group alumni meetups as a way to foster new connections. Each meetup will be hosted by alumni, faculty and staff. Our Black Alumni Meetup will be hosted by Lisa Givan and Darius Darling. Our College of Business Alumni Meetup will be hosted by Sherrill Hamman. Our International Alumni Meetup will be hosted by Sharmila Chowdhury and the International Admission Team. These groups will meet from 1 to 3 p.m., on Saturday, Oct. 2. We hope to offer new groups each year to build alumni connections.

The Alumni Association Annual Board Meeting: This meeting will be held on Oct. 2, at 3 p.m., giving you a great chance to catch up on board activities and find out which committees are looking for volunteers.

As we get ready for these in-person events, we are also grateful for the lessons learned from online event planning. You will see several online events included in the homecoming schedule for those who are unable to travel. Everyone anywhere can compete in our ORANGE YOU GLAD IT IS MONDAY decorating contest, join in our virtual game night for charity and drop in for an evening with faculty.  You can find out more about these events here.

If you would like to volunteer to help prepare or host during homecoming, please contact me for details at kjarmus@indianatech.edu.

I am six months in to my new role and loving it! It has been terrific to meet and talk to alumni at events and online. There are great opportunities to partner with other campus departments and grow alumni engagement. I feel we are off to a good start to the coming year! As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on engagement and events. Later this term, an alumni survey will be sent out by email. This survey will gather input on what is important to you as Warrior alumni, and what types of programming you would find most meaningful. If you prefer to talk with me one on one, I would happy to set up a time to meet with you in person or virtually.

I hope to see you at homecoming ether online or in person. Until the next issue, wishing you the best!

Kristi