We talked to a Queen’s expert – and alumni – about what keeps us coming back.
Three years ago in October, Stewart Goodings, Arts’62, returned to Queen’s for Homecoming. It wasn’t his first time back, but this one felt extra special.
Sixty years had passed since graduation. Goodings had gone from his hometown of Port Arthur, Ont. (now Thunder Bay) to Queen’s and on to a civil service career. He became a federal assistant deputy minister in Ottawa and a provincial assistant deputy minister in Victoria. Now retired in Comox, B.C., he recently published a post-Cold War novel set in Russia called My Friend, My Enemy.
Yet it all started at Queen’s.
At Homecoming in 2022, Mr. Goodings took part in familiar rituals: the football game at Richardson Stadium and dinner with classmates. A stroll through Grant Hall brought reminders of school dances, model parliaments, and convocation.
“That building has memories galore,” he says.
But it was an impromptu conversation at Ban Righ Hall that stood out. There, he met the then-student president of the Alma Mater Society. Mr. Goodings had served in the same role six decades earlier.
“We had the most delightful conversation,” he recalled. Though decades separated their student lives, for several moments they were peers, discussing the AMS and the university.
“The AMS was much smaller in my time,” he says. “Today it’s like a huge corporation. They do a lot.”
On his way home, Mr. Goodings was left with only fond feelings. “A lot has changed in the university,” he said, “but it’s still a fantastic place.”
On the surface, Homecoming is about school pride and reconnecting with classmates. But for many, the experience goes much deeper. Call it the allure of Homecoming – a powerful pull to return to the place that shaped our lives.
Part of the draw may be seasonal. Held in the fall, Homecoming coincides with a time that, from our earliest school days, marks new beginnings. Even decades after graduation, autumn carries that same sense of renewal, and Homecoming, perhaps, is a manifestation. For a few days, we are back at school with classmates.
But science also helps explain the attraction – and benefits.
Li-Jun Ji, a Queen’s psychology professor, says revisiting happy experiences makes us feel closer to those moments and the people who shared them.
Such feelings, she says, “can contribute significantly to one’s self-identity, which has both short-term and long-term benefits.” In the short term, they can boost self-esteem and reduce anxiety; over the long term, they can strengthen relationships and resilience.
Homecoming may also foster “self-continuity” – the sense of being the same person despite life’s changes. “Self-continuity is beneficial to both physical and psychological well-being,” Prof. Ji says.
Despite its prominence today, Homecoming didn’t start out as a major tradition. In the early 1900s, U.S. universities invited alumni back simply to watch a football game. Over time, formal celebrations were added. Queen’s first official reunion was in 1926.
Football remains a centrepiece, but alumni often say the weekend’s draw is more profound than watching the Gaels pummel, say, the Varsity Blues or the Gee-Gees on a crisp autumn afternoon.
“Homecoming is, as the name implies, about coming home,” says Chris Fosmire, Sc’78. “Queen’s was my home for four of the best years of my life.”
Fosmire grew up near Rochester, N.Y., and was uncertain which university to attend. One visit to Queen’s convinced him.
“I fell in love with it the instant I set foot on campus,” he says. “There was an atmosphere that felt different than other schools.”
He still notices that difference when he returns. His most recent Homecoming was in 2023 for his 45th class reunion.
“I came away from Queen’s with my closest friends and it’s still a comfortable place for me to be,” says Fosmire, who now lives outside Philadelphia.
He enjoys Homecoming’s events but also savours walking the campus, visiting Leonard Hall where he roomed (“I always enjoy seeing what they’ve done to the place”) and reliving vivid memories. One that stands out: during a mid-1970s snowstorm, he and classmates trudged through drifts to attend class, only to discover that, in a rare move, the university had cancelled them.
Carey Morrison, reunions and class giving officer at Queen’s, has seen alumni returning to Homecoming for 18 years. She’s noticed two distinct reactions from people coming back after a long absence: those struck by how much has changed, and those amazed at how little has.
Both observations can be true. A walk by Grant Hall or Ontario Hall can feel timeless, especially for older alumni. Stepping into Mitchell Hall or Goodes Hall reveals a more modern Queen’s.
Either way, the weekend stirs strong emotions. Alumni want to visit the places they spent time at as students – whether on campus or off (think breakfast at Morrison’s Restaurant), she says.
For her, Homecoming can be summed up in one sentence: “It’s one big, warm hug,” she says. “There’s a lot of hugging going on that weekend.”
Morrison adds that many alumni, beyond seeing old friends, are keen to connect with current students. “They have a vested interest in Queen’s and how students are doing. They care,” she says.
That certainly was Mr. Goodings’s experience when he spoke with the AMS student president. “Queen’s is where I learned about leadership,” he says. “And it made me think of where today’s students will go in their careers and what they’ll do next.”
