Homecoming 2022: A Recap

Toccoa Falls College’s 2022 Homecoming celebration kicked off Friday afternoon when the TFC men’s and women’s soccer teams faced off against Regent University. The crowd was filled with current TFC students and alumni, who packed the bleachers to cheer on our beloved Screaming Eagles. The women’s team took home the win with a score of 3-0, and the men’s team tied 2-2. 

After the soccer games, the crowd headed to TFC’s legendary Sweets and Treats event. Under a large white tent on the intramural field, students and alumni gathered together to munch on candy and snacks, converse around the bonfire, and enjoy the cool chill of the October evening. Recent graduates reunited with friends who are still enrolled and shared laughs as they caught up on life since graduation. Alumni who have not been back to TFC in years brought their families to reminisce on “the good old days” and swap stories about their time as students.

As Saturday rolled around, kids, students, and alumni headed to the creek in front of Gate Cottage for a duck race. This event is well-known for merging students, alumni, and faculty and staff, along with their families, for a bit of fun competition. The little rubber ducks raced through rapids as the cheers of young children urged them down the river. Several faculty members, including Dr. Burris, waded in the water with nets to catch the winners at the finish line and help the straggling ducks make it to the end. 

Later Saturday afternoon, the TFC women’s volleyball team claimed the victory over Johnson University Florida, winning 3-0. The gym was packed with cheering students and alumni as the women’s team easily dominated the entire match. 

This year’s homecoming basketball game was a special one for TFC. The men’s alumni basketball team won their first game! During the Homecoming Court presentation, Rinaldo Bonomi and Daphne Nateras were crowned Homecoming King and Queen. 

“When I first won, I didn’t really know what it all meant,” Nateras says. “It wasn’t until I started talking with people that it all made sense. Through my years at TFC, I have strived to advocate for people who are often ignored or forgotten. It has been challenging and sometimes frustrating because change seems impossible. But after winning this title, it felt like affirmation over the healing that is happening on this campus. It showed me that the work I have put in has made a difference.” 

Later that evening, SGA hosted the annual Homecoming Dance. Students who attended experienced a night under the stars. The evening was full of dancing, making s’mores, and gazing up at the stars in the clear night sky.

“My favorite part of the dance was watching the crowd react when a well-known song started playing,” says SGA Campus Life Chair Maisen Sturt. “It's like, all of a sudden everyone's faces lit up and people started screaming and singing along. This happened over and over, and it made me laugh every time.”

The event lasted long into the night and left students feeling excited for the next event Sturt and the rest of SGA will host in the coming year.