SC State alumni pack campus for Homecoming celebration

Generations of Bulldogs return for parade, football, food and fellowship

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Wallace Fraser has been gone from South Carolina State University for 50 years, but he has never really left it behind. 

For the 1976 graduate, Homecoming is about more than reconnecting with old friends. It's about honoring the place that helped shape his life and making sure future generations have the same opportunity.

“This school is home; this is where I got started,” Fraser said. 

That sense of belonging was evident Saturday, Oct. 24, as generations of SC State alumni returned to Orangeburg for the 2026 Homecoming parade, football game and tailgating festivities. Tickets for the football game were sold out by Saturday morning, adding to the excitement surrounding one of the university's biggest annual celebrations.

Alumni and SC State supporters lined the streets as the annual Homecoming parade made its way through downtown Orangeburg and the university campus.

Outside Oliver C. Dawson Stadium, alumni and visitors gathered to tailgate, enjoying ribs, chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers, and an assortment of side dishes. The festivities added fellowship to a Homecoming celebration filled with reunions and Bulldog pride.

Fraser, a Georgetown, South Carolina, native, is a member of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the SC State National Alumni Association. He was among those gathered to watch Saturday's parade.

“I enjoy seeing old friends and seeing how everything has changed. I contribute to the school, so I’m interested in the future of the school and making sure that it’s here because when I’m long gone, I want the school to still be here,” Fraser said. 

His class donated more than $700,000 to the university. The donation was presented during the university's Alumni Weekend banquet May 9, and the class was honored on the field during Saturday's Homecoming football game. 

Fraser said he made lifelong friends at SC State, many of whom he gets to see at Homecoming. 

“What I like about the school is the friendships, the people that I met that are still in my life. It was a way to make lifelong friendships. I didn’t know that prior to coming,” he said. 

A family tradition

Orangeburg resident Penelope Williams, a 1982 SC State graduate, played clarinet in the Marching 101 Band and enjoys returning for Homecoming and watching the parade every year.

“I enjoy the band. I love the atmosphere and the fact that they’re going to put some new buildings on the campus. Everything is nice,” Williams said.

“My family and I have been standing in this same spot for almost 30-something years. Anybody looking for Penny knows to find me right here!” Williams said.

She said her daughter, who is named after her, also attended SC State and majored in the same field, family and consumer sciences. Her identical twin sons, Edward and Elston, are senior physical education activity management majors at SC State.

Williams, a home economics teacher at Edisto High School, recalled bringing her twin sons to the Homecoming parade when they were babies.

She said she is proud to see how all her children have grown through their experiences at SC State, where attending Homecoming has become a family tradition.

“We just enjoy it, we really do. We’ve been coming out here every year,” Williams said.

Reconnecting with classmates

Dr. Dawnn Flowers, a 2015 SC State graduate from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, was also taking in the sights and sounds of Saturday's parade.

“I just enjoy being at home and seeing all of those that I went to school with, the people you build bonds with. Just seeing them and the growth that they’ve had in life,” said Flowers, a pharmacist who earned a degree in chemistry from SC State. 

Velmenia Stanley, a member of the SC State Class of 1966, said watching the parade and attending the football game are among her favorite parts of Homecoming.

“I also get to enjoy family, friends and my classmates; it’s just the camaraderie,” Stanley said.

The Conway native, who has lived in Maryland since 1966, majored in music education at SC State. 

“My class just had our 60th class reunion in May. It was wonderful,” Stanley said.

Witnessing the university's transformation

Identical twins Gale and Dee Davis, members of the SC State Class of 1974 and natives of Greenville, South Carolina, were also among the parade spectators.

Dee, a former member of the Marching 101 Band, drove 12 hours from New Jersey to attend.

“I like the camaraderie. It’s about the community, seeing our own at an HBCU. There is nothing like it … It’s a blessing,” she said.

Dee was amazed at how much the campus had grown since she attended what was then SC State College. 

“I don’t even recognize the campus; it’s changed so much. My sister comes every year, but this is the first time I’ve been in several years. I recognize the post office and Williams Hall, but not much of anything else,” she said.

Dee said she loves her alma mater.

 “Without South Carolina State College, I would not be the person I am today. They instilled morals and values in me and helped me get a good job and a good career,” she said.

Gale said returning to campus gives her an opportunity to reconnect with fellow alumni and witness the university's progress.

“It’s always fun to come back. I just love being a part of the school environment and seeing how so many alumni support the school. It’s good to be able to come back and to also see that the school is making some progress,” she said.

“It’s absolutely wonderful to come back and see how people have matured and grown over the years. It’s just a love for the school; that’s the main thing,” she said.

A lasting foundation

Rene Jenkins, a 1993 SC State graduate, said she enjoys the family-like atmosphere of Homecoming.

“I was a member of the Marching 101. So it’s about just coming back to see members of the band and friends and colleagues and those you grew up with and had different experiences with while we were here. SC State has a family culture, and you want to come back just to remember and reminisce on all the good times you had here,” she said. 

Jenkins, who majored in music education, recently retired as band director at Eagle’s Landing Middle School in Henry County, Georgia. 

She said she and her peers grew up at SC State and shared many good times and memories.

“This kind of set the stage for our lives and the tone for our futures, and it was a good one. It gave us a lot of strength. We had good times, bad times, but it molded us and gave us strength to deal with all these obstacles we deal with in life,” she said.