Current students are not the only members of the WKU community who get to take part in Homecoming festivities. Alumni are a crucial component of any university, especially here on the Hill. This is why each year during Homecoming week, the College Heights Herald makes an effort to reach out to former students to submit letters reflecting on their time in a place that was so influential in shaping the rest of their lives. Whether it was seeing a future President in E.A. Diddle Arena or simply sharing a meal with friends on campus, WKU is considered a home by many, even to those far removed from Bowling Green. If you are an alumni and wish to share any memory from the Hill that has played a role in shaping your life, please let us know.

Share your story with us at [email protected]

WKU was for me, like a lot of people, my first home away from home. What I learned about myself and other people over the course of those four years was just as important as what I learned from Dr. Cantrell and Dr. Vos in Grise and Cherry Halls. The relationships formed with lifelong friends go on and grow stronger to this day and all of that happened at this place – Western Kentucky University. Now 10 years removed from that time on the Hill, anytime I get the chance to go back, it’s truly like coming home.

There’s always a comforting feeling when I go home. There are places throughout campus like the Colonnade, the Valley, the top of the Hill just behind Cherry Hall or that bench in the shade somewhere between Grise and McLean where I remember meeting someone or purposely going out of my way to walk by that space simply for a dose of inspiration. The campus is full of these places and all the familiar faces that fill them, full of spirit. As time goes on, and I revisit these places maybe via picture in the latest brochure or better yet, in person at Homecoming, I’m reminded that the spirit is always there. It is also with me.

That is what WKU did for me. She gave me spirit. . . and I can’t wait to see her again the next time I come home.

The Spirit Makes the Master.

Brandon Spurlock, Class of 2007