"THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE IVY" HOMECOMING REFLECTIONS & IVY-LINKEDIN CAREER CONNECTIONS
A View of GU – NOVEMBER 2025
“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5 NIV
As I reflect back on (and recover from 😅) Homecoming & Family Weekend 2025, “Remember that We Are Ivy,” one word remains top-of-mind: FLOURISHING. The extended “weekend” (activities ran Wednesday through Sunday 😮💨) was rich with reunions, stories and connections.
In the September issue of “A View of GU,” I shared about our desire to “set the table” for lots of opportunities to facilitate our flourishing “Fellowship of the Ivy” alumni network.
[It’s] such a blessing to set the table for reconnection, renewal and revival amongst our alumni. The powerful sense of home many of us experienced during our years as a student continues in, among and through our alumni throughout the world. You form a vital, interconnected “net that works” (J.D Walt).
And set the table we did … lots and lots of them, in fact. 😅 Tables were set for 50-year, 40-year, 25-year and 10-year class reunion gatherings, along with affinity gatherings for Wilson T. Hogue Society, alumni travel, McAllaster Scholars 30-year reunion, and the sciences; along with numerous athletic reunions, including a well-attended baseball reunion featuring dedications of the “Ish” Smith Museum and the Coach David Altopp Clubhouse. (For photos and stories of the weekend, visit our GU Alumni Association Facebook and Instagram social media channels. 🧡🐾🌿)
As I ran from event to event, I absorbed the beauty of the multi-generational community we continue to nourish and nurture at GU–between students and faculty, between student athletes and coaches, between next-generation “Legacy League” families and the campus traditions, between current students and families, and among our alumni and friends.
For some, such enmeshment often reflects “a tangled web” woven by complications, conflict and worldly competition; but, for us—for those attached to Greenville University—our interconnections more often take the form of a life-giving vineyard ripe with fruitful collegiality, collaboration, and vocational contributions to God’s Kingdom on earth.
Thank you, GU alumni, for all the ways you continue to rise up in support of the ongoing flourishing of our campus community—yes, through your giving, but equally through your coming-home engagement with—and your going-out investment in—the growth of GU students and alumni. It was so good to be with you in the Ville for Homecoming & Family Weekend 2025. 🧡
👟 YOUR NEXT STEPS: SAVE THE DATE for Homecoming & Family Weekend 2026, October 15–18 featuring the 50-year Reunion Class of 1976, 40-year Reunion Class of 1986, 25-year Reunion Class of 2001, and the 10-year Reunion Class of 2016. 🧡🐾🌿 Senior class officers from these reunion classes, watch your inbox for invitations to initiate planning for your reunion! 🙂
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IVY-LINKEDIN CAREER CONNECTIONS
A brief note for those of us on LinkedIn … Maintaining our career, education and location updates on LinkedIn provides one helpful way to rise up and serve our flourishing ivy-LinkedIn network.
As current students and alumni inquire about specific careers or locations in which they seek guidance and/or employment, I encourage them to visit the Greenville University LinkedIn page (linkedin.com/school/greenville-university), click on the “Alumni” tab, and search our network using professional and locational criteria. The more accurate our information, the more helpful the search results. 😊
Also, please keep an eye out for connection requests and/or messages from GU students or alumni. A few minutes of your time and vocational wisdom will contribute value to our growing ivy-linked network. 🔗 Thank you for participating in this service to our community!
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Quick REMINDER … GU has relaunched alumni travel in partnership with the Tidball family travel legacy with a May 2026 trip to Greece. Learn more at: greenville.edu/alumni/alumni-travel/gu-in-greece-2026, download GU in Greece – 4-Page Full Brochure (PDF with Registration Application), and watch the video recording of the first information sessions. For more information, contact Todd & Sue Tidball via cell (360-509-2890) or email (toddtidball@comcast.net). We love receiving your deposits and expect to solidify the group by the end of 2025. (We do have open spots available, but the trip will be limited to 32 total travelers.)
Until we meet again … keep praying. Keep watching. And keep thanking God with us for the good work He continues to do on campus in the lives of GU students, faculty and staff and in you, our GU alumni and friends. 🧡🐾🌿
VIEW "FOR THE RECORD - NOVEMBER 2025” ENEWS
