The campuses of both the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University were buzzing with activity, laughter and smiles this past weekend (June 20-23) as members of graduating classes in years ending in 4’s and 9’s and others returned to connect with their classmates as part of Reunion 2024.

In all, around 1,300 alums took part in the festivities, despite rainy weather. The fun kicked off with check-in on both campuses Thursday evening and continued with a variety of activities and events Friday and Saturday.

The centerpiece on both campuses were the SJU and CSB All-Class Dinners and Celebrations held on both campuses Saturday night.

The ceremony at CSB included recognition of this year’s Reunion Awards recipients. They were: Janene Jensen Riedeman ’89 (Benedictine Service Award), Ann Wingert Williams ’84 (Distinguished Alumna), Anika Chowdhury ’14 (Decade Award) and Sigrid Hutcheson ’59 (Renner Award).

“This was a weekend full of joy,” CSB Executive Director of Alumnae Relations Valerie Jones said. “The questionable weather did not stop Bennies and Johnnies from across the decades from connecting with each other and their alma maters. The oldest CSB alumna in attendance was from the class of 1953, a group of five Bennies from the class of 1959 gathered to celebrate their 65^th Reunion and the class of 2019 celebrated their very first Reunion, meaning alumnae represented more than 65 years of the life of the college throughout the weekend.

“Reunions are always special, and as a representative of the class of 1994 myself, it was a delight to share in such a fun and meaningful milestone with my own classmates and friends across the ages. As a staff person, my two favorite highlights are the All-Class Dinner, because I love shining light on the accomplishments of our alumnae, and the Reunion Kickoff, because I love the high-energy updates and fun surprises that come from this event. It was a fantastic weekend!"

The ceremony at SJU included recognition of this year’s Alumni Achievement Awards recipients. They were: Mark Jantzer '74, Wayne Liebhard '79, Bernie Sinner '84, Brian Kueppers '89, Rob Bellin '94, Darius Husain '99 and Brian Eder '04.

“It was so wonderful seeing alums return to campus from the fifth reunion class of 2019 all the way to the 60^th reunion class of 1964 and beyond,” SJU Director of University Relations Adam Herbst said. “It’s always inspiring to see alums from across the generations who share the same deep connection to these campuses.

“A theme I heard a lot was how our Benedictine Values continue to guide our graduates as they lead and do meaningful work in our world.”

Events wrapped up with check-outs and masses on both campuses Sunday morning.