By Dr. Hugh Riley | Guest Contributor

Homecoming is an opportunity to connect, celebrate, create cherished memories and feel great pride in the uniqueness of their academic home. For Baylor, that’s an easily accomplished task.

The more I thought about it, the more I saw similarities rather than differences among the perspectives (faculty, students, alumni) on homecoming because of the unique and shared nature of the Baylor community. Nonetheless, there are differences, which I will address in just a moment.

There is also the blending of faith and science in an egalitarian environment that recognizes the inherent worth of every person. Our stated mission is to prepare men and women for worldwide leadership and service to help transform the world into a better place for everyone and to encourage civil discourse, which is one of four pillars in our Baylor in Deeds strategic plan.

Ultimately, I always knew that homecoming was an opportunity, but I never knew it as a blessing until COVID-19.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit colleges, there was an unexpected rush to transition from classroom courses to online formats, which many professors, including me, were not familiar with.

We instantly needed to become accustomed to terms like asynchronous, Respondus Monitor, LockDown Browser, Type 1 and Type 2 classrooms and learning to post video lectures and online exams to Canvas with test pools. Later, it meant learning to teach while engaging in social distancing, coordinating self-quarantining and the attendance policy, then teaching while everyone was wearing a mask in synchronous courses.

For students, though, an entire generation was denied the “traditional college education,” which obviously includes the homecoming experience. The impact of that experience will continue to be measured for many years to come.

I taught my first course as faculty at Baylor in 1999, so I have seen many generations of students. Every professor knows this experience well — the incoming freshmen bears little resemblance to graduating seniors because of the developmental changes that occur in those four years. In the decades that follow, when a former student returns for homecoming, the change is exponential.

During our departmental homecoming social, many of our students with professional, postgraduate plans (law, dentistry, medicine, counseling, etc.) return to their alma mater. I have interacted with former students who are now practicing in these professions, and I have enjoyed meeting their spouses and children.

These events underscore the significant responsibility of being a professor as we reflect on the transformative experience that made their professional life possible.

Importantly, then, homecoming is a celebration — a time to gather, get to know one another, share ideas and memories and have fun.

Baylor curates a transformative experience through meaningful activities, including Homecoming Worship by Vertical Ministries; Dinner with the Livingstone’s; Baylor Alumni Awards, Pigskin Revue and the annual Royal & Pure Homecoming Stroll Off.

It also comprises of Singspiration, Baylor’s Homecoming Worship Service, the Extravaganza Pep Rally and Bonfire, the homecoming parade and alumni tailgate, and, of course, the homecoming football game, as our Baylor Bears take on the UCF Knights.

These activities and others begin at the Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center, which is homecoming central for our alumni and guests, and includes performances by student groups, fun photo ops, activities for kids and many other opportunities for celebration. So let the games, activities, memories, renewed relationships and the fun begin — and Sic ’em Bears.