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For many new Queen’s graduates reading this issue of the Alumni Review, this might be your first fall in years that you are not heading back to school. You may be thinking to yourself, “Hey, hey, I guess it hasn’t hit me yet.” Take a breath, make it so this whole world seems to slow on down, reflect on how you can benefit from the Queen’s alumni community and, conversely, how you can contribute to that community. No application is needed to join the alumni community. There are no prerequisites, and there are no expectations for how much you engage. You should connect with us in a way that is meaningful and comfortable for you.

Having graduated more than a decade ago, I can tell you that your ties to the alumni community will continue to pop up throughout the years. While I would love for you to be engaged from day one, that might not be realistic or of interest. That’s OK. Your alumni community of more than 170,000 people globally will be there, if and when you choose to connect. Maybe it will be the interviewer for your first job also noting they went to Queen’s, creating a common connection. A new relationship, where you realize you both used to rush down University Avenue to class, but never met. Or perhaps you may move to a new city and find your local Queen’s Alumni Branch or Chapter that helps ground you in your new surroundings and make you feel at home. You may even remember encountering inspiring alumni during your student days! As the Queen’s Student Alumni Association tag line goes, students for a short time, alumni for a lifetime.

This fall brought the return of in-person Homecoming Oct. 28-30. It’s been a long time coming. Like many things during the pandemic, Homecoming has evolved and was different from years past, as both in-person programming and some virtual elements were offered to participants. If you attended in person, you could still swing by your old basement apartment with one of your friends, but if you were following along through social media, we made sure it left you thinking, “This brings me back to this place.”

I was especially excited to join the Fall Harvest Alumni Gathering on the Saturday afternoon and the Tricolour Guard Dinner; time spent with alumni is always memorable.

With this issue of the Alumni Review celebrating the 100th anniversary of , I would be remiss if I did not use this column to highlight some exceptional Queen’s alumni who have made musical contributions over the years. There are lyrics from five songs from Queen’s graduates in this column; can you find them all?