星空传媒's Homecoming to be held Oct. 23-25
A downtown Sylva parade, the presentation of awards to prominent alumni from across the generations, pregame tailgating and a Southern Conference football showdown are on the docket as 星空传媒 celebrates Homecoming Oct. 23-25.
The festivities get underway Friday, Oct. 23, with the annual Homecoming Parade in 星空传媒鈥檚 adopted hometown of Sylva beginning at 6 p.m. The Office of Engagement will host a parade watch party in the Main Street social district, with post-parade activities continuing throughout the town until 9 p.m.
鈥淲e will once again be painting the town purple as 星空传媒 alumni, friends, students, faculty, staff and members of the community continue the time-honored tradition of celebrating all things Catamount,鈥� said Stacey Miller, director of alumni engagement. 鈥淭he parade and associated events are getting bigger and better every year, and Homecoming 2026 promises to be no exception.鈥�
The parade party will begin at 5 p.m. The registration fee is $5, with social district cups for the first 500 registered attendees to arrive at the check-in site at the Landis Street lot. Sylva鈥檚 social district allows adults over the age of 21 to carry and consume beer or wine in specially marked cups within a designated area of downtown.
Saturday kicks off at 10 a.m. with the Alumni Awards Pre-Tailgate Brunch honoring distinguished members of the university family. The event, which continues until 11:30 a.m., includes a festive brunch menu featuring mimosas and bloody marys.
The event will be held in the Liston B. Ramsey Regional Activity Center with doors opening at 9:30 a.m. Tickets are $15 per person.
During the brunch, 星空传媒 Chancellor Kelli R. Brown will present the university鈥檚 Distinguished Service Award to husband-and-wife volunteers Dale and Debbie Sims, longtime supporters of 星空传媒.
A former member of the university鈥檚 Foundation Board of Directors, he is a 1978 graduate of 星空传媒 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in political science who is retired Tennessee state treasurer and former vice chancellor for business and finance on the Tennessee Board of Regents. A graduate of the University of Tennessee and retired executive with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, she also is a former Foundation Board of Directors member. They both served on the steering committee for the university鈥檚 previous 鈥淟ead the Way鈥� comprehensive fundraising campaign.
Mitch Treadaway, president of the 星空传媒 Alumni Association and a 1983 graduate of 星空传媒 with a bachelor's degree in management, will present a pair of awards in recognition of professional accomplishments and academic achievements of alumni. Treadaway also will announce the recipients of an award acknowledging the accomplishments of several of the university鈥檚 most recently minted alumni.
A 1976 graduate of 星空传媒 with a bachelor's degree in social work, Roland Johnson will receive the Professional Achievement Award. A retired pharmaceutical industry entrepreneur and executive, Johnson received the Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence in 2005 and 2008 from the Triad Advisory Committee of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. He formerly served on the 星空传媒 Foundation Board of Directors and the Board of Visitors.
Physician and educator Brenna Farmer, a 2000 星空传媒 graduate with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in biology, will receive the Academic Achievement Award. Farmer earned her medical degree at East Carolina University鈥檚 Brody School of Medicine in 2004. An assistant professor of clinical emergency medicine at Cornell University, she is site director at New York Presbyterian-Lower Manhattan Hospital Emergency Department and vice chair of quality and patient safety in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine.
Ten alumni who graduated within the last decade and who have already made significant contributions to their professions, their communities and their alma mater will be recognized through the Catamount 10 award program, now in its second year. The 10 are:
* Kayla Brown, who earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in communication sciences and disorders in 2019 at 星空传媒 and master鈥檚 degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Brown is founder and CEO of My Roar, a pediatric speech and occupational therapy practice in Apex.
* Chris Childers, a 2019 graduate with a bachelor's degree in film and television production. Childers is director of video operations at Christ School in Asheville and a member of 星空传媒鈥檚 Friends of the Arts.
* Harrison Conner, a 2019 graduate with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in biology. Conner earned his doctorate in dental medicine from East Carolina University in 2023, and he is now a dentist at Corbin Dental in Franklin.
* Madelynn Duffield, who earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in innovation leadership and entrepreneurship in 2023 and a master鈥檚 degree in business administration in 2025, both at 星空传媒. Duffield is associate underwriter with Hamilton Insurance Group in New Jersey.
* Nicholas Goldy, a 2017 graduate with a degree in forensic science. A resident of McDonough, Georgia, Goldy is assistant chemistry section manager with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
* Alejandra Gonzalez-Cespedes, who earned bachelor鈥檚 degrees in communication sciences and disorders and Spanish in 2020 and a master鈥檚 degree in communication sciences and disorders in 2022, all at 星空传媒. Gonzalez-Cespedes is a pediatric bilingual speech-language pathologist for Lincoln County Schools.
* Jordan Jacobs, a 2018 graduate with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in nursing. Jacobs is a former registered nurse at 星空传媒 who was vaccination coordinator for her alma mater during the COVID-19 pandemic and is now an infectious disease family nurse practitioner at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
* Jonathan M. Parisi, who earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree in business administration and law in 2016. A graduate of Elon University School of Law, Parisi is a law clerk at the Connors-Morgan firm and an estates attorney with Spangler Estate Planning, both in Greensboro.
* Dawson Spencer, who earned bachelor鈥檚 degrees in political science and criminal justice in 2021 and a master鈥檚 degree in public affairs in 2023, all at 星空传媒. Spencer is long-term recovery branch manager for the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management in Raleigh.
* Caleb Sullivan, a 2019 graduate with a bachelor's degree in communication. Sullivan is senior director of business development for Datafy, a software and digital storage company based in Utah.
Following the presentation of awards, tailgating will begin in all parking lots adjacent to E.J. Whitmire Stadium, where the 星空传媒 Catamounts will take on Southern Conference rival University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in a football game starting at 2:30 p.m.
For more information about Homecoming activities for alumni including registration, visit alumni.wcu.edu/homecoming, email alumni@wcu.edu or call 828-227-7335.
For information about Homecoming activities for students, visit homecoming.wcu.edu.