OHIO Alumni Visit University Libraries as a part of Homecoming 2022
University Libraries welcomed back OHIO alumni during Homecoming Week 2022 from Oct. 3 to Oct. 9 with button making and an in-person display of historic materials from the Mahn Center’s University Archives. The display titled, “Lasting Memories: Your Annual OHIO Homecoming Display,” was showcased inside Alden Library on the fourth floor. The display encompassed archival materials such as scrapbooks, photos and handbooks, among much more.
A button-making station also occurred outside the fourth floor of Alden with participants getting the opportunity to create their own souvenirs out of recycled materials such as yearbooks to commemorate the weekend. The events allowed both past and present Bobcats to connect to their University and the Libraries while also feeling the school spirit.
Check out the photos by Charlie Nick / Ohio University Libraries from the event below:
Robert Maher, Ohio University class of 1977 with a master’s in elementary education, and Marilyn Maher, OHIO class of 2011 with a bachelor’s in anthropology, look through yearbooks outside of Alden Library’s fourth floor. Being a Bobcat runs in the family, as Marilyn Maher explained that others before her also went to OHIO.
“We (Robert and Marilyn) love looking at the old yearbooks because my grandpa, my mom’s dad, is also an alum, and then my grandmother's cousin (is also an alumni), so they’re in some of the yearbooks from the 1950s,” Marilyn Maher said.
Robert Maher also mentioned that Marilyn Maher’s great uncle graduated from OHIO as well.
OHIO alumni flip through previous years’ yearbooks outside of Alden. The Libraries University Archives displayed publications and memorabilia of the past for alumni and current students to explore, as a part of the Homecoming 2022 celebration.
Jordan Thompson, OHIO class of 2012 with a bachelor’s in engineering technology management, and Ashley Thompson, spouse of Jordan Thompson, browse through University Archives’ publications at the Libraries’ Homecoming display held at Alden Library. Jordan Thompson had many late nights studying at Alden Library when he was an undergraduate at OHIO.
“I spent a lot of time on the second floor and the fourth floor using the study rooms and also the tables and chairs throughout the building,” Jordan Thompson said.
A wide variety of Ohio University Archives’ memorabilia such as yearbooks, photos and publications were on display during University Libraries’ Homecoming event held at Alden Library. The in-person display was titled, “Lasting Memories: Your Annual OHIO Homecoming Display,” and showcased the long and rich history of both OHIO and University Libraries.
Kyle Shepherd, OHIO class of 2021 with a bachelor’s in philosophy pre-law, and Megan Urdiales, OHIO class of 2022 with a master’s in clinical exercise physiology, spent time at the button-making station outside of Alden’s fourth floor. Shepherd and Urdiales came back to the Libraries to visit the place where Urdiales spent a lot of her time as both an undergraduate and graduate student.
“We (Shepherd and Urdiales) wanted to go up to the seventh floor because I didn’t get to see it on my last day that I was here in Athens when I graduated, so I was like ‘we gotta go up to the seventh floor and get the views that I loved studying to.’”
Levi Younoszai, a freshman studying outdoor recreation and education, poses for a photo to show off his newly made button at the button-making station. The creative activity gave both alumni and current students the opportunity to make a souvenir out of repurposed materials to remember the weekend.
Abigail Hopkins, OHIO class of 2015 with a degree for specialized studies in entrepreneurship and wellness, explores University Archives’ publications at the in-person display titled, “Lasting Memories: Your Annual OHIO Homecoming Display.” Hopkins was frequently at the Libraries during her time at OHIO, as she was a student employee who worked at the fourth-floor desk doing circulation.