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The skies cleared for the Buzz Bash fireworks and the sun shone on Bobby Dodd Stadium as the Yellow Jackets pulled off an exciting Homecoming win over Miami.
"I think Homecoming at Tech gets better every year. We see more alumni and friends coming back, not only to learn about the great things taking place here on campus and to see the big game but also to connect with their old friends," said Joseph P. Irwin, IM 80, president of the Alumni Association.
Rain on Friday did not dampen attendance at a host of seminars at the Global Learning Center, where alumni and friends heard presentations on such hot topics as the Earth's climate and the U.S. energy crisis, entertaining and enlightening lectures on the Georgia Aquarium and a robotic drummer and informative discussions on innovative business strategies and breakthroughs in cancer treatment.
There also was something for everyone at Friday night's Buzz Bash, which drew alumni of all ages as well as a number of infants bundled as bees and little girls in white and gold cheerleading garb. Food stations set up under the stadium's west stands allowed guests to mingle and graze on the tasty delights. Youngsters were thrilled with gigantic lollipops and cupcakes heaped with icing. Their parents and grandparents were treated to everything from sushi to pasta, burgers to satay.
In keeping with the Carnivale theme, jugglers, fire breathers and acrobats entertained, as did a band that played the hits from many Tech alums' days on campus.
While rain had fallen sporadically during the evening, there was nary a drop as the first firework burst over the football field and capped a fun-filled Buzz Bash.
Elsewhere Friday night, members of the classes of 1956, '66 and '81 were dancing, dining and reminiscing at their milestone reunion parties, at which they presented President Wayne Clough with a combined total of more than $11.5 million for campus programs and projects.
The Division of Professional Practice and its Cooperative Education Program hosted its first Co-op Homecoming celebration. Funding for the event was provided by the family of the late Rembert DuBose, ME 48, a co-op student and former president of the Alumni Association.
There was plenty more fun on Saturday, beginning with the traditional Ramblin' Wreck parade and continuing with a terrific tailgating party on the Tech Tower lawn. And there could not have been a more perfect end to Homecoming than a 30-23 win over Miami.
Mr. and Ms. Georgia Tech — Steven Blackwood and Alison Graab — were presented at halftime of the football game. Graab, president of the Student Government Association, is a fourth-year earth and atmospheric science and international affairs major from Alpharetta, Ga., and a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. Blackwood is a fifth-year biomedical engineering and premedicine major from Roswell, Ga. He is the recipient of the 2005-06 Georgia Tech Bobby Dodd Scholarship and was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2005 major league baseball draft.
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