St. John’s College invites our alumni, families, and partners to return to campus for Annapolis Homecoming, September 26-28, 2025. Alumni can look forward to the Dean’s Lecture event Friday evening. Saturday afternoon, following seminar and lunch, there are a variety of activities that range from a Johnnie author event in the bookstore to a tour of the Mitchell Art Museum exhibition, the Soccer Classic tournament to borrowing a watercraft from the Boat House. Or, you may wish to make your career expertise available to current students that the Student & Alumni Networking event offered by the Office of Career Development. Sunday is dedicated to the In Memoriam and Farewell Brunch, both partnerships with the Alumni Association. We encourage you to plan your class reunion activities early to supplement the college’s Homecoming offerings.
Homecoming Seminar
The Homecoming Seminar reading for 2025 is Julio Cortazar’s “Axolotl,” a story included in a collection of Cortazar’s short stories called “Blow Up.” The Homecoming seminar is an occasion for the entire alumni body to read and discuss a common text. Each seminar will be comprised of alumni from one or multiple classes. The common text has been selected by the Dean and the Instruction Committee.
“There was a time when I thought a great deal about the axolotls. I went to see them in the aquarium at the Jardin des Plantes and stayed for hours watching them, observing their immobility, their faint movements. Now I am an axolotl.” So begins Julio Cortazar’s “Axolotl,” a playful and inventive short story that invites serious reflection on the nature of observation, on what it means for two creatures to be like or unlike one another, and on how the sustained act of looking at another being can shape our conception and understanding of ourselves.
Registration
The entire Homecoming schedule will be published in January 2025. Registration will open Monday, June 16, with a discounted ticket cost. Regular-priced tickets will be available for purchase from Tuesday, July 15, though, Friday, September 12. We are unable to accommodate late event registration, including in-person.
Accommodations
Reserve your lodging early! On-campus housing is fully occupied by current students and is unfortunately unavailable. Special SJC rates are offered at a number of local hotels via our travel partner, Campus Travel Management. They also offer special SJC rates for some local Bed & Breakfasts.
