Whether it's familiar faces, treasured places or shared memories that evoke joy or laughter … when YJ4L unite, it is a celebration spanning decades of time and a treasured legacy.
On Friday-Saturday, June 5-6, BW will celebrate its annual Alumni Weekend. All class years are invited to return to campus to attend fun events, visit favorite campus spots, and reconnect with friends and classmates. Of special note, the weekend will include milestone reunions for the classes of 1966, 1976, 2001, 2016 and 2021.
New for 2026
Favorite traditions will still be a part of the weekend, but a few new additions have been added. Among them is a decade challenge to see which class year decade will reign supreme with the largest number of participants.
In addition, there is an expanded focus for the Saturday night event. BW is welcoming all alumni back to a huge party that evening, which will still give a celebratory nod to the milestone classes but will also encompass all class years in recognition of the unifying legacy everyone shares.
A new change in event scheduling for 2026 is the recognition of Alumni Merit and Outstanding Young Alumni Award honorees, which will now include two events on Friday evening — a VIP reception at the President's Home and an all-class dinner at Strosacker Hall.
Other festivities throughout the weekend include campus tours, class photos, receptions, award celebrations, affinity group gatherings, food trucks and family-friendly activities.
Connecting to classmates
Helping to lead the festivities will be BW President Lee Fisher and Tony Peebles, who earned his MBA from BW in 1998. Today, Peebles serves the university as its alumni engagement director.
Among Peebles' many achievements, he is working to boost engagement through a new class ambassador program. A group of enthusiastic and hard-working alumni class ambassadors is volunteering their time to reach out to members of their class year to participate in Alumni Weekend.
Among them is Brianna Razzante, a 2015 education major and 2019 Master of Arts in Education graduate now employed with the Solon City School District.
"Becoming an ambassador is something I was excited to do," she said. "One of my favorite parts of being a student at BW was knowing how many alumni continued to support BW.
"I loved meeting alumni as a student. It was always so special to hear the stories they shared of what they learned from BW, the memories they made, the careers they chose, the friendships they made and more. It made every experience as a student that much more meaningful. I really believe it makes a difference for students when there is strong alumni engagement," she emphasized.
Fun challenge across graduating decades
A friendly competition that enables class years to help their era claim bragging rights is now underway. The Alumni Decade Challenge began last July and will continue through Alumni Weekend, with participation in events like the Fund for BW and Alumni Weekend as its central focus.
Alumni from each decade are challenged to make a gift in support of the Fund for BW. Every gift, no matter the size, counts toward a decade's participation percentage. The decade with the highest percentage of alumni donors — and attendance at Alumni Weekend — will be crowned the winner.
To date, Classes from the 1960s are in the lead, followed by the 1970s and 1950s. Totals are updated regularly and are posted on the Alumni Weekend web page (scroll down to the section titled Alumni Decade Challenge).
Register today for Alumni Weekend
Alumni, along with family and friends, are encouraged to join their classmates and generations of YJ4L across the decades for Alumni Weekend festivities, where they can toast their alma mater and their own success in having become part of the Brown & Gold legacy that defines what it means to truly be a Yellow Jacket for Life.
