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The Daily Tar Heel

Alumni flock to Chapel Hill for Homecoming game

Some alumni will fly. Others will drive. Many more will think fond thoughts, but be unable to come. But no matter the circumstances, each alum has a home waiting for them back in Chapel Hill.

Tar Heel alumni return to UNC for many reasons, from the sense of community to wanting to reconnect with friends.

“I’m currently at (the University of Virginia) post-undergrad, but Carolina traditions just run so deep,” said Emily Liebtag, a graduate from the class of?2007 attending her fifth year reunion this weekend.

“I feel like Carolina permeates my world. Whether it’s sporting events, other meetings, classes, it’s always the Carolina Way for me ­— you just feel like it permeates the rest of your life,” she said.

Homecoming is even a chance for alumni to instill UNC values and pride into their children.

“My dad would take me to alumni events at Carolina, and it was really cool for me as a child because I was so young and fascinated by everything and the school spirit,” said freshman Shelby Schulman.

Schulman said that she wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps and also become a Tar Heel.

“I was one of those little girls who dressed up in the little UNC cheerleader outfits — it means so much to me to be here now.”

Laura Sheppard, General Alumni Association coordinator of Homecoming and affinity reunions, said alumni love to learn about how things have changed since leaving UNC.

“I know from staffing events that whenever you see people graduate who haven’t been back yet — whether it has been four or five or 50 years ago — they love to share their memories, which is an awesome aspect of my job,” she said.

Meeting Tar Heels from different graduation years for the first time is easy, Sheppard said, because all alumni can bond over sharing and comparing their UNC experiences.

“It shows how unique the Carolina experience is — I think that’s why I still haven’t left Chapel Hill,” Sheppard said, who graduated in 2008.

The connection between alumni extends past reunions.

“When I travel, I always seek out other alumni,” Liebtag said.

“It all just comes together seamlessly. You never have to question anything when you meet the new people because everyone just comes together at Carolina.”

The GAA is hosting a variety of events throughout the weekend, ranging from class reunions to parties open to all alumni, such as the Bell Tower Tailgate Party.

Aside from hosting each fifth class reunion through the 25th, the GAA also hosts events for specific groups.

Natalie Haith-Edwards, chairwoman of the Black Alumni Reunion, said events include honoring older alumni as far back as 1952.

“Our events are educational, inspirational, and social, where participants come back for various reasons,” she said.

“You will hear memories of Carolina before the days of organized minority recruitment programs, African-American admissions officers and African-American faculty and staff.”

The Black Alumni Reunion will host a variety of other events such as a banquet for the Light on the Hill Society scholarship and social functions.

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Class of 1981 graduate Laura Zuckerman-Levin said leaving UNC is hard once it has been home for four years.

Many people find a reason to stay close and connected to UNC by working in the area, she said.

“There’s a word in Yiddish, kvell – it just means this overwhelming pride in something,” Zuckerman-Levin said.

“You can have it in your kids or other things too, but it just begins to become a part of who you are – and that’s how it is when you come out of Carolina.”

Contact the desk editor at

university@dailytarheel.com.

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