TRANSITIONS
Pioneer Invasion
With a crisp autumn air settling in and a positive vibe permeating campus, Marietta College welcomed back over 750 members of The Long Blue Line for Homecoming 2023. Students and alumni participated in one or more of the 60 scheduled events ranging from a portable zipline to Booze and Broadway with the Theatre. Naturally, the tailgate at Don Drumm Stadium was popular and the day was capped off by a 3-0 women’s soccer victory and 37-14 football win at home. Not to be outdone, volleyball and men’s soccer were also victorious over Heidelberg on the road for a perfect sweep over the OAC rival. Be sure to mark your calendars — tentative dates for Homecoming 2024 are Oct. 24-27!
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Great Learning Happens Here
A few weeks ago, I met Aurora, one of our impressive Marietta seniors. The occasion was a dinner to welcome the featured speaker at the Economic Roundtable of the Ohio Valley. The guest list included our speaker, attorneys, business leaders, faculty, and College leaders.
I was impressed that Aurora accepted this invitation. It would have been so easy for her to hunker down in her room to tackle any number of projects for one of her three majors in International Business, Finance, and Economics. Or simply relax and hang out with her friends.
The quality that led Aurora to take full advantage of this opportunity? She is open. Open to new spaces (she hails from Florida); to new ideas (adding Finance and Economics to her planned International Business major); to new experiences (study abroad and an internship that led to a part-time, remote work job offer); and to new career possibilities (she now aspires to become an international relations consultant on cultural differences).
Aurora is impressive! And, she is aware of how much she has grown since coming to Marietta. Her strengths and talents have taken root and are being nurtured here.
Such nurturing is happening all across our campus. Communications, Political Science, Education, Chemistry, and Physics are just a few programs with a notable track record of student success. We see great work in the McDonough Leadership Program, where our students are developing insights and building skills that they will use throughout their multiple careers. Our Theatre program helps students find new ways to express themselves, at the edge of their own comfort zone, as they transport audiences to another place and time. And our Petroleum Engineering program ensures that students are well equipped to enter a field of rapid change, one that is critically important to reimagining how to fuel our energy-intensive world. Because of the learning that happens here, our students are growing and will be ready for what lies ahead.
Our significant investment in Marietta College — as employees, as donors, as friends — is worth it. Just ask any Marietta College student.
Best,
DR. MARGARET L. DRUGOVICH
PRESIDENT
Inside this issue
Chi Omega turns 100
More than 100 sisters returned to campus to celebrate the fraternity’s centennial milestone and reminisce about their Chi Gamma chapter at Marietta College.
Blazing their own trails
Students exemplify what it means to be Pioneers
Features
EDITOR Gi Smith
ART DIRECTOR Ryan Zundell
PHOTOGRAPHERS Robert Caplin, Phil Mason, Tom Perry, Nathan Reich, Rebecca Wheeler
CONTRIBUTING WRITER Elizabeth Steele
MARIETTA The Magazine of Marietta College is published by the Office of Communication & Brand Management. The magazine serves its readers by providing information about the activities of Marietta College alumni, students, faculty and staff through the publication of accurate and balanced content that informs and stimulates intellectual discussion.
Text, photographs and artwork may not be reprinted without written permission of the Vice President for Communication & Brand Management at Marietta.
Contact Us Send address changes, letters to the editor and class notes to Marietta Magazine, 215 Fifth St., Marietta, OH 45750.
Phone: 740.376.4727 Email: marketing@marietta.edu
Erin Hahn ’23 sports the ring that members of the 2022-23 women’s basketball team received for reaching the NCAA Division III Sweet 16.
Petroleum Engineering student Derek Witsberger ’24 works on his artistic skills in instructor Liz Davenport’s Drawing I class.
After a year of planning and fundraising, Jason Nulton, Community Engagement Coordinator, and Marietta Trustee Dr. Jim Wilson ’69, who is a retired Navy Captain and Naval Aviator, officially opened the Veterans Center during a ribbon cutting ceremony at the McDonough Center.
Alayna Francis ’26, left, Vanté Hodges ’26, middle, and Franko Rome ’26 play spikeball while Justin Shanklin ’26 runs behind them. Spikeball was just one of many activities students enjoyed as part of World Mental Health Day on campus.
Not too long ago, hundreds and hundreds of alumni returned to campus for the annual Homecoming celebration. For some, it was the first time in decades since returning, which is always fun to see.
Depending on when their last visit took place, campus looks entirely different. The Christy Mall is one of the biggest shocks. “We’d have to dodge cars to get to class.” Dawes Memorial Library is also mentioned quite a few times. “I helped carry books into that library.” Those memories typically garner a chuckle from the storyteller.
It’s when they start talking about the people they knew back then — fellow students, professors they made connections with, administrators who were tough as nails and local families who invited them into their homes — that the memories turn into emotions. Their smiles become wistful looks as they remember the kid that they once were and how the people of Marietta College cared for and educated that kid.
Alumni returning after a long absence are easy to spot. They look at campus very much the same way that the 17- and 18-year-old incoming freshmen look at it — excited to be here and ready for an adventure.
If you missed Homecoming this year, don’t worry, work is already underway for next year. As you know, you are always welcome to come home!
