On Friday, Oct. 20, and Saturday, Oct. 21, KO welcomed back multiple alumni in celebration of the annual Reunion Weekend. This special tradition gives former Wyverns an opportunity to spend the weekend reliving their favorite moments from high school.
Like many other schools, reunion weekend allows alumni to catch up with former teachers and friends, while also seeing how the daily lives of students at Kingswood Oxford have changed since they last attended.
This year, over 300 alumni and guests were able to attend the reunion. Although all alumni are invited, the school tries to focus on ones who are graduating in milestone years. This year, that meant those who graduated in years ending in 3 or 8 because these would be anniversaries such as the 25th and 40th.
Director of Alumni Relations Elizabeth Bellingrath talked about the importance of the 50th anniversary. “We always pay special attention to the 50th Reunion: the class of 1973,” she said. “Interestingly, this year is the last 50th Reunion. We had separate Kingswood and Oxford alumni classes. The school merged after that year, and the Class of 1974 was the first to graduate as Kingswood Oxford.”
Middle School math teacher Tylon Smith loves the opportunity to catch up on athletics which he was a huge part of during his time at Kingswood Oxford. “My favorite part is always being on campus and seeing the current generation of Wyverns compete and seeing old teachers and catching up, which is a bit easier now that I work here,” he said. “I just love seeing generations of Wyverns all coming together to celebrate the current generation. One of my favorite memories as an athlete here was interacting with the alumni and learning from them to better myself. From the likes of Jared Jordan, Jason Lambert and Durelle Brown, they paved the way for me during my time here and now it’s my turn to pay it forward with this generation.”
As a 2011 graduate, Mr. Smith is not the only Kingseood Oxford faculty member that loves reunion weekends. Associate Director of Alumni and Parent Relations Frances Morris ’90 shared what she enjoys about the event. “I love to see the alumni having fun with alums from other classes,” she said. “My favorite example was when a gentleman from the Kingswood class of 1963 jumped into the middle of the dance floor with the class of 2003. There was a 40-year age difference, but they had a great time together.” It is clear that reunion weekend means a lot to many people.
Ms. Bellingrath shared that planning has been underway for next year’s event for the last six months, which is 18 months in advance. We look forward to welcoming the alumni back next year!
