Homecoming isn’t just about tailgating; it’s also about reflection. Elon alumni shared on Saturday memories from their time on campus.
For thousands of Elon alumni, their years on campus provided lasting memories on top of an education that helped them make a positive impact on their communities.
The Office of University Relations spent time Saturday visiting with alumni visiting campus as part of Homecoming 2011 tailgating. Each was asked the share for E-net visitors the name of the person they miss the most from their years as a student – and why that was the person they chose.
There were professors and classmates who have passed. Deans of students served as mentors, an athletic trainers who offered inspiration. Here are their memories:
Dwayne Waite ‘08
“Personally, I miss Rex Waters, associate dean of students. I was with the Resident Student Association and New Student Orientation. His mentorship, his humor, just his ability for us to not only learn but give services to the students, it was an awesome opportunity.”
Barbara Yuskevich ‘76
“The person I miss the most was Dean (June Murphy) Looney. She was a trendsetter for women. I was very close to her, and she was an inspiration to me. She was a leader. She gave us goals to strive for. And she was very easy to talk to.”
Greg Seel ‘81
“I think the guy I miss the most was Frank Rhodes. He was dean of student affairs. As you know, the job kind of handed to you with a lot of the problems that occurred at Elon. But he was the kind of guy who was always calm, and nothing really riled him a whole lot. The memory I have of him was he would go through campus and he would say good morning to everyone. ‘Good morning, how ya doing, how ya doing?’ One morning the Kappa Sig dog was running through, and he even said good morning to the dog. HE was a friendly guy who spoke to everybody, but nothing really riled that guy up at all. He was Mr. Calm in a lot of tough situations.”
Susan Vaughan Waltman ‘87
“Dr. (Martin) Shotzberger. We called him Dr. Shotzy. He was my adviser here and he was great. He kept us on track. He was a great business teacher and adviser, and he got us through.”
John “Yoni” Gozjack ‘66
“Everybody talks about how great Dr. Danieley was, an inspiration to all of us and still is to this day. It was just a place you could never leave because it’s home.”
Amanda Ketner ‘11
“The person I miss the most is Alan Russell. He’s a math professor. We did research for three year and we traveled a lot. He was my academic mentor, my research mentor, and kind of my life mentor through student teaching. I miss him a lot.”