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May 18, 2009
Weekend welcomes thousands of alumni

By Eric Rangus

It’s an event that’s so big, it takes five days to squeeze it all in.

Emory Commencement Weekend, May 7–11, is the five-day campuswide celebration that culminates in the graduation of a new class — and for the Emory Alumni Association, it’s a great opportunity to welcome more than 3,800 new alumni into the community.

And on a few occasions, it seemed like every one of those new 3,800 alumni, and their parents, were in the same place at the same time.

From the shoulder-to-shoulder lines at registration kiosks following the annual Candlelight Crossover, May 7, to the packed dance floor at the Torch and Trumpet Soirée, May 8, it seemed like the new graduates never wanted the celebration to stop.

Like the Crossover and the Soirée, many of the weekend’s events have grown into valued traditions. One new tradition, it’s hoped, is how Emory Commencement Weekend is communicated. For alumni who couldn’t attend in person, the EAA blogged from the trenches throughout the weekend at eaavesdropping.blogspot.com and tweeted from seemingly every corner of campus at www.twitter.com/EmoryAlumni. That way, alumni everywhere can join in the conversation, no matter where they are.

Another of Emory Weekend’s goals is to focus on the pride that should accompany an Emory degree. If the words of Brittain Award winner Nicolai Lundy ’09C are any indication, the goal has been met.

“When we are asked where we went to school, let’s not just say the name, but let’s also say what is behind the name — the incredible opportunities that students experience every day here at Emory,” Lundy told a gathering of the 100 Senior Honorary, on May 8. “If we can do that, then we will indeed be leaders among our peers, leaders among the alumni, who do a little bit every chance they get to let others know why they should regard Emory with the same respect that we do.”