Alumni from coast to coast will head back to the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Oct. 19-20 for Homecoming 2018.
“The weekend promises fun for all and includes an Open House at the Alumni Welcome and Conference Center, a historical non-walking tour of campus, the traditional Tent City Tailgate and, of course, the football game featuring our top-notch Titans,” Alumni Director Christine Gantner said.
Kate Lidtke, the 2018 Miss Oshkosh and a UWO first-year education major, will sing the National Anthem at the start of the Homecoming football game at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium. The Titans take on UW-LaCrosse at 1:30 Saturday, Oct. 20.
Other highlights of Homecoming 2018 include some extra special reunions.
“In addition to our traditional alumni events, Homecoming 2018 will feature the journalism department’s 50th Reunion, an All-Greek Reunion celebrating UWO Greeks throughout the decades, and recognition of the 1968 Titan championship football team,” Gantner said.
“Gather your fellow classmates and head home to your alma mater for a memory-filled weekend. You won’t want to miss it.”
Reminisce, reconnect at the All-Greek Reunion
For the past seven years, David Tolpingrud ’71, a member of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, has made the trip back to UWO from San Diego for Homecoming.
“Every year I reconnect with additional alumni. All the events, including the Tent City Tailgate and the great success of the Titan football program contribute to a terrific weekend,” he said. “I even reconnected with my Delta Sigma Phi big-brother two years ago. We have become close friends again with my recent purchase of a summer home in Oshkosh. I only wish I had not waited so long and had started returning sooner. Please come and join us.”
Tau Kappa Epsilon member Mike Schmidlkofer ’76, of Wind Lake, also is looking forward to the All-Greek Reunion.
“I encourage others to come, reminisce and enjoy a nice fall weekend back at UWO. Take in a Homecoming football game and cheer our Titans to victory, if we are really watching the game and not gabbing too much about old times,” he joked.
Schmidlkofer has fond memories of taking part in Greek activities at UW Oshkosh.
“We enjoyed competing in inter-fraternity events, whether it was Winter Carnival playing broom hockey or rope pull, or intramural football, basketball and softball,” he said. “It was some hard fought competition, and sometimes it got pretty heated. However, eventually everything settled down, and we respected our competition so much that many of us became friends. So we had our fraternity brothers as friends and then we also had those in other fraternities as friends.”
What Alpha Pi member Karen (Dohr) Goodwin ’69, of Port Washington, cherishes most from her days at UW Oshkosh are the lifelong friendships she has built.
“Reunions are about friendship. They are for reminiscing, catching up, renewing and celebrating our friendships,” she said. “Sometimes we lose track of our friends but true friendship means being able to pick up right where you left off 10, 20 or even 50 years ago.”
Several years ago she reconnected with sorority sisters whom she hadn’t seen in 40 years.
“We laughed, we cried, we sang and told stories. We reminisced; made new friends; got caught up with our lives; discussed current events, art and sports; supported each other and laughed again until we cried. These are the million little things of friendship that started during our college days and have continued for a lifetime for me. They are what I cherish most,” Goodwin said. “I urge everyone to join us for Homecoming 2018 and rediscover the million little things that made your time at Oshkosh memorable.”
Norb Hill ’69 and MSE ’71, a Sigma Tau Gamma of Oneida, enjoys regularly returning to campus for Homecoming.
“I look forward to seeing former school friends and reminiscing about events of the day,” he said. “It was a time of extraordinary growth for UW Oshkosh, while I grew up at the same time. Half of what I learned was outside the classroom. I wouldn’t trade my experience. UW Oshkosh gave me a map for the future for which I am forever grateful.”
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