by Rebecca Wagner, Director of External Relations
A beer-tasting tour featuring local craft brews, alumni and friends rotating between four timeless venues, and perfectly paired gourmet appetizers. An exclusive Alumni Weekend experience that the University Colleges at the University of Waterloo are uniquely positioned to offer, was on tap June 2, 2023.
Life-long connections were celebrated and re-established, and new friendships were made, as alumni spanning the decades of University College history came together for the inaugural Across the Creek Beer & Bites signature University of Waterloo Alumni Weekend event.
University colleges specialize in fostering rich social connections. The sense of community created amongst students so often transitions into tight-knit groups of alumni who maintain their connections through the decades.
Guests included former first-year roommates who remain friends to this day. An alumnus mother and daughter. Floormates from 2013. Partners who met as first-year students in residence. A former Don who lived at United College for 5 years. A current resident completing his third University of Waterloo degree. Three former members of an Environment Living Learning Community.
Brand-new venues were explored, and old stomping grounds were revisited, as alumni and friends toured Conrad Grebel, United College, Renison, and St. Jerome’s. Alumni enjoyed pointing out changes on their home campus since last visits many years ago.
“This door wasn’t here!”
“What is that!”
“Where did this building come from?”
While the campuses themselves have in many ways changed dramatically over the years, the sense of community and social connection that the university colleges foster remains to this day, creating memorable experiences for everyone who passes through their doors.
Article originally published in the University of Waterloo’s “Waterloo News” on June 8th, 2023 (here).