The Graduate participated in Homecoming throughout all their years at Queen's and has participated in a reunion in the past. Below is the list of questions we asked them, and their responses. 

 

 

Are you proud to be a Queen’s Alumni? Why or why not?

 

"Yes, Queen's is a prestigious university, and I'm very proud to have spent my univeristy years there. I have met some of my best friends while at Queen's, and I'm grateful to continue to come back for Homecoming."

 

 

What do you associate with your Queen’s Homecoming experience? What symbols do you associate Homecoming with?

 

"Getting up early, drinking, hanging out with almost entirely Engineers. This past year I found myself running between the Film & Media group and the Engineering group, as the two don't really mix. I associate Homecoming with alcohol and a lot of Queen's clothing." 
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Do you participate in Homecoming? What activities do you participate in?

 

"I do heavily participate in Homecoming, specifically the street parties and the Engineering parties. I go to the football game every few years, but I rarely find myself participating in the school-sanctioned events, as they have little to do with my faculty or friend groups." 

 

Do you think Homecoming plays a part in maintaining the identity of a Queen’s student? Why is it important?

 

"I find Homecoming in absolutely important for those wishing to maintain their identity. It is a good time to go back and renew those university  memories, and to make new ones."

 

After graduating, have you found that your identity as a Queen’s student has become more important in your life?

 

"While it renews during Homecoming, I have found my identity as a Queen's student become less and less important as time goes on. It isn't helpful in the job market, and the connections just aren't there for Film & Media students. We suffered from a real lack of connection with the professors and our department as a whole due to lack of clubs and programming." 

 

This interview prompted a further question of whether the interviewee found Engineers had a stronger community than the Film & Media department:

 

"Absolutely they do. They are built on a community in the engineering department. However, what I have found over the years is that your identity isn't your degree. You don't have to maintain your distinct degree as your Queen's identity, I proudly identify as a Queen's student, I identify less as a Film & Media student from Queen's.

 

CONCLUSION

 

This Graduate is proud to be from Queen's but less proud to be a Film & Media graduate. While as they stated their degree wasn't their identity, these findings speak to a larger divide in the Film & Media department between students and professors, and as well their overall pride to be from the department.  As well the interviewee spoke to the idea of being from a greater Queen' community, not necessarily one department, which in our other two interviews we also found to be the case.