Be Right Back! A Final Homecoming at SCD

As I sat outside the SCD West Terrace watching my final Homecoming Parade march past Siebel, I was overwhelmed with nostalgia and a sense of community.

For the last three homecomings, I worked during the parade. Even though I made the schedule for all the Concierge student staff, I never managed to schedule myself off. It was never on purpose, but it always happened. Luckily for me, SCD is smack-dab in the middle of the parade route.

This year was no different from years past. We left a note on the desk that said “be right back!” and we watched. There were painted cars, Coke polar bears, and old men doing wheelies on mini tractors. But what stood out most was the community. Seeing groups like the Marching Illini and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, both of which hold events in our building, made me proud to work in a space that connects so deeply with the community and is so intertwined with student life.

I view SCD as a creative hub on campus. Anyone can make use of the space, from advertising majors here for AAF each week, to Industrial Design majors working in the shop, to Game Studies students using the computer lab. That’s what makes the building so great: it is a melting pot of everything the University has to offer.

SCD also feels like home because of its staff. In my time at the desk, I have seen many coworkers come and go, which is unfortunately what happens when you’re hired as a freshman. Still, I became attached to some of my favorite coworkers. Anne, the concierge manager when I was a sophomore, took me under her wing and made the big, scary building I worked in feel a lot less intimidating. I hope I can have the same impact on our newest Concierge staff.

Spending four years at SCD wasn’t what I had planned for my college experience, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. The building gave me, and so many others, a sense of purpose and belonging.

Homecoming brings out the pride in just about every Illini fan. Alumni come home to relive their time in Champaign-Urbana, while current students hold on to the time they have left. It doesn’t quite feel real that next year I will be coming back not as a student but as an alum. Even though my time as a student is coming to an end, I know the community at SCD will always be here for me whenever I need it.