On September 25th, Belmont Hill students, families, and alumni arrived on campus to watch the varsity soccer and football games. There were food trucks, tents for snacks, Party with a Purpose merchandise, and, as always, the Belmont Hill Loop in full force after being dormant over the past year and a half because of the pandemic. However, the annual Belmont Hill Homecoming always means more than watching games and eating good food. It serves as an opportunity for alumni and their families to revisit and experience again the essence and spirit of Belmont Hill.
It is for this reason that so much planning goes into Homecoming each and every year. Before the event itself, the Alumni house has to first coordinate with the athletic department, the parents council, and Belmont Hill’s food service. With the athletic department, schedules must be planned so that families and alumni can watch soccer and football games. Because so many attendees are parents of current students, the plans must be communicated with the parents council. And, last but not least, food has to be available for all of Belmont Hill’s guests, requiring a major effort from Belmont Hill’s food service. After all of this preparation and planning, Belmont Hill’s maintenance team goes to work on the day of Homecoming to prepare the fields, tents, and decorations. The hard work and dedication
Unlike many other schools, attending Homecoming for parents and even alumni is free of charge, meaning Homecoming is not a fundraising event. In fact, many alumni events over the course of the year, including reunions, are also not fundraising events. This begs the question: why pay for these events when they aren’t producing any revenue? According to the Alumni House, when alumni attend a Belmont Hill event they are more likely to stay closer to the school. That is, rather than charging alumni for these events, alumni will more than make up for the cost because of their generous giving later on. This approach towards alumni participation is particularly unique to Belmont Hill and only works because of how generous Belmont Hill alumni are.
This year, attendance by Belmont Hill alumni was notably higher than normal. After a year of games without any visitors and no Homecoming at all, alumni were eager to visit campus again. Attendance overall was higher as well. Interestingly, alumni make up around 80 to 100 of the 500 attendees usually. The rest are students and their families. The amazing atmosphere paired with the amazing food and bolstered attendance made this year’s homecoming something to remember, and for that, we thank both the maintenance crew and the Alumni House.
