Every October, Oklahoma State’s Homecoming week starts with the ceremonial dyeing of the Edmon Low Library fountain to the brightest color of orange. On Wednesday, the street leading up to the stadium, Hester Street, is painted by OSU students, family members, alumni, and faculty. They paint encouraging words to the coaches, players, and staff for them to read on the traditional Spirit Walk to the stadium. On Friday night comes the biggest celebration of the week: walkaround. Thousands of people flood the campus in Stillwater to look at all of the house decs that the fraternities and sororities spent hundreds of hours making, the signs that residence halls, Greek life, and campus organizations put so much time and effort into, and Homecoming and Hoops is attended after walkaround. The annual parade takes place hours before the game, and the loyal and true fans scream their hearts out at the football game.

But let’s be real, everyone has heard about these traditions. With this being America’s Greatest Homecoming, people across the nation and the world know about the enormous house decs that go up on Greek row each year. The real star of this celebration each year are the thousands of students, alumni, faculty, and faithful fans that bleed orange. Their passion for Oklahoma State University is inspiring. No matter if we win or lose, you can always count on a huge turnout to homecoming.

Growing up in a small town 15 minutes north of Stillwater, I’ve bled orange since I was born. I have attended almost all of the walkarounds I have been alive for, and I am beyond excited to have been able to contribute to this year’s celebration. Since I have been around this my entire life, I sometimes forget how amazing this celebration and this university really is. No other university in the nation has this big of a celebration. No other university in the nation has such a large turnout of people at such an event. That’s just phenomenal. The entire student body collaborates on these projects in order to show what Oklahoma State means to them, to show what makes Oklahoma State home.

No matter where alumni end up in the state, nation, or world, Stillwater will always be home. America’s Greatest Homecoming is a celebration for past, current, and future generations of Oklahoma State students. It is a celebration of the passion that the people hold for this land-grant university. It is a mark of pride, and we don’t plan on giving away this title to anyone, ever.