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Alumni | Events | Students | AV抖阴 MailbagFebruary 23, 2024

AV抖阴 Mailbag: Where Memories Roar

Written By: Ian Silvester

Welcome back to another edition of the AV抖阴 Mailbag. The campus was alive with more activity than usual recently, all thanks to Homecoming.

This year鈥檚 theme, 鈥淲here Memories Roar,鈥� was apropos of how I left the week feeling, and I hope you felt the same. If you are like me, this homecoming was your first at AV抖阴, and I鈥檓 looking forward to many more! If this isn鈥檛 your first, I sincerely hope you had an equally great time and made memories that will roar for years.

The week was highlighted with competitions, reunions, games, and, of course, the crowning of this year鈥檚 Homecoming King and Queen.

All week long, teams competed in banner, office decorating, dance, and tailgate competitions. The Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity won the banner competition. The office decoration competition went to the Baha鈥檌 Club and the World Language Department.

Not to be outdone, Dancing with the Lions was a fun event with fierce competition. Dance drama was reserved for 1^st place, where a tie ensued. The sorority-fraternity team of Gamma Phi Beta and Sigma Nu tied with the Nostalgic Numa Association. The tailgate winner was the team composed of ROTC, the Black Student Alliance, and the Student Veteran Organization. Congratulations to all the competition winners; a complete list of winners can be found here.

As tradition goes, homecoming celebrations celebrate all those who have called themselves a Lion or another school mascot. The AV抖阴 Homecoming was the same, with multiple events welcoming back alums. The first event, AV抖阴 Camp Reunion, marked 20 years of the first tradition Lions are a part of.

The reunion invited all students, faculty, and staff who have participated in or helped lead AV抖阴 Camp throughout the years and concluded by recognizing AV抖阴 Camp Hall of Famers.

Awards were given to:

• Cody Prater
• Sarah Murrah
• Zach Gramlich
• Coy Wineland
• Brooke Devine
• Will Hutson (posthumously)
• Dylan Bean
• Destiny Rogers
• SK Thomas
• Dyllan Newell
• Reagan Newell

Before the Homecoming Tailgate and basketball games got underway, another reunion took place. The Alumni Reunion Brunch welcomed Lions dating back to when AV抖阴 was still Fort Smith Junior College and every name in between.

At the brunch, five Lions were honored by the AV抖阴 Alumni Advisory Council. Awarded with the Young Alumni Award were Dr. Daniel Fudge, class of 2012, and Jaime Vargas, class of 2018 and 2023 (Master of Healthcare Administration). The Stacey Jones Outstanding Faculty and Staff Award was given to Dr. Nicki Stancil. The Spirit of Numa Award, for a non-alum friend and supporter who champions the mission of AV抖阴 through volunteer or philanthropic service, went to Sara Putman, the owner and operator of Bookish at the Bakery District. The highlight of the award presentation came at the end when the highest recognition offered, the Distinguished Alumni Award, was awarded to Stephanie London, the assistant dean of students at AV抖阴. You can read more about the alumni awards and the recipients here.

Before homecoming festivities ended, the Lions took to the court, hosting St. Mary鈥檚 University. The women鈥檚 basketball team beat the Ratters by 30 points, 86-56, to start the day. Following the women鈥檚 game was the men鈥檚 basketball team, who came up short against St. Mary鈥檚 95-81 despite a 33-point performance by senior Payton Brown.

At halftime of the men鈥檚 game, the 2023 Homecoming king and queen, Jesse Witt and Shae Gilbertson, returned to AV抖阴 to announce this year鈥檚 king and queen. Eight students were elected to the homecoming court, and Kendrix Holcomb and Krystal Boylan were crowned Homecoming King and Queen.

I hope you all had as much fun as I did experiencing my first AV抖阴 Homecoming. I鈥檓 already looking forward to next year鈥檚!

As always, if you have a story you鈥檇 like to see in the AV抖阴 Mailbag or a question about campus answered, email communications@uafs.edu.

Until next time,

Ian

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• Homecoming
• AV抖阴 Mailbag