Homecoming Week is a special time of year for university alumni around the country. No matter if it’s been one, five, or 25 years, it is a great opportunity to reconnect with old friends and classmates from near and far.

Colleen Paulson (MBA ’02) still sees many of her Pittsburgh-based classmates from Pitt’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business. Her career has taken many different pathways and she has been lucky to meet many Pitt alumni along the way. “But, it’s been hard to connect with those who live outside of the area,” she said. Friend and classmate Stephanie Tigue (MBA ’02), from Scranton, contacted Paulson to meet during an upcoming visit to Pittsburgh.

Paulson was inspired to coordinate a mini-reunion for her 2002 MBA classmates at the 2022 Homecoming football game on Oct. 8. She had connected with some on LinkedIn and other social media but knew there were others. “The hardest point, from a planning perspective, was finding everyone’s current information.” Paulson knew she needed her invitation to reach far and wide. She relied on her networking skills to find other alumni, using both Facebook and LinkedIn to spread the word a few months in advance.

Tailgate and Tickets

Amy McCloskey, director of Alumni and Constituent Relations for Pitt Business, recommended Homecoming Weekend for the gathering. The Philanthropic & Alumni Engagement team provided Paulson with an Acrisure Stadium parking pass to create a meeting spot and casual setting for their reunion plus game tickets for the 15 alumni and a guest for each. Some alumni came from eastern Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Washington DC.

For Paulson and her classmates, all the planning came to fruition. Paulson said, “The entire day was wonderful! I literally lost my voice for the following week because I talked and laughed so much. It was great catching up with old friends – even though it had been almost 20 years since I had seen some of my classmates, it really felt like no time had passed.”

Homecoming 2023

Have you been wanting to reconnect with your Pitt Business classmates? Alumni Relations can assist you in locating your classmates and help you create your own mini-class reunion at the Homecoming 2023 football game. They will also provide football tickets (for each alum plus one guest) and one parking pass (to be used to organize the physical meet-up space). For more information contact Meg Komenda at MAK708@pitt.edu. As always, Hail to Pitt!