February 4, 2025 | By Kerri Braly

When Laura Manion (A04) arrived at Santa Fe Homecoming in September 2024, she didn’t see any football games or tailgate parties—none of the more traditional displays of school spirit that bind alumni who may otherwise have little else in common.

Instead, Manion found herself singing alongside fellow alumni and fighting back tears.

“It was highly emotional for us, revisiting the songs we had sung in freshman chorus,” Manion says, “remembering the melodies and harmonies that had stayed with us through the years, the songs we wrote papers on, and how we felt as young adults.”

A few weeks later, alumni who attended Annapolis Homecoming enjoyed a similar camaraderie in the Foucault pendulum pit, where they filled Mellon Hall with the sounds of St. John’s unofficial anthem, Palestrina’s Sicut Cervus.

These kinds of experiences, Manion says, represent a truer form of homecoming, one that affirms and restores an alumni’s connection to something deeper.

“I was struck by the strength of the bonds among alumni, and it’s because of how unique and intense this education is,” she says. “It was incredibly moving to be surrounded by people who were on the same intellectual journey and to rekindle that spirit of mutual adventure.”

The last time an in-person Homecoming event open to all alumni was celebrated in Santa Fe or Annapolis had been in 2019, right before the pandemic and staffing concerns triggered a reevaluation of campus events. During that period, Manion began thinking about the importance of meaningful community in her life.

“I had never been to Homecoming, and I hadn’t been to campus in years,” Manion admits. “For 14 of them I was living and teaching in San Francisco, and there just wasn’t an opportunity to leave in the middle of the year.”

Homecoming 2024 marked a return to tradition for the college and a return to the college for Manion, who is now living in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. She teamed up with two friends and headed to Santa Fe, where she had spent what she calls “her favorite year” at St. John’s.

“To be in a place that shaped me so profoundly,” she recalls, “walking the steps I used to climb when I was younger, reliving freshman chorus with people who really knew me at my core … It was transcendent. There is something beautiful, even spiritual, in that instant when the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. It happens in music, and it happens at St. John’s.”

That sense of being joined to something larger than herself spurred Manion to reflect more deeply on her support for the college and her role in its future.

“I have always donated at least a small amount, even when I was a young, poor teacher working in Mississippi. That money was a way to affirm my love for St. John’s and the impact it has on others,” she explains. “I realized how much I want that impact to continue after I’m gone.”

By the time Homecoming was over, Manion had decided to include the college in her estate plan.

It was a natural next step for Manion, who made a career shift from secondary education to financial planning during the pandemic. “My happiest clients are the ones whose lives and plans align with their values,” she observes. “There can be a real joy in determining what your resources will accomplish when you’re no longer here—and for me that means helping St. John’s thrive.”

The commitment mirrors what she sees as the college’s own thoughtful planning. “I have been really pleased with our leadership and the creative problem-solving that has taken place,” Manion says, pointing to ongoing efforts to keep tuition affordable and improve campus infrastructure and student support. “I’m excited for this work to expand, because there needs to be more Johnnies out there, taking this very intentional approach that we apply to texts and using it to make a positive difference in whatever fields they choose.”

Creating generations of Johnnies who are prepared to make a difference tomorrow depends on alumni acting today, and Manion hopes her fellow graduates are aware of how accessible that step can be. Although she drew from her professional expertise when crafting the gift, she emphasizes that leaving a legacy is often simpler and more straightforward than people realize.

“You don’t always need someone like me,” Manion says. “And you don’t need a large estate or a set amount. If you are at a point in your life where you can’t visualize a dollar figure, that’s okay. You can go with a percentage instead. There is room to grow what you’re able to give.”

Manion also challenges the idea that legacy giving is primarily for retirees. The advantages, including tax savings, can benefit donors of any age. “But” she clarifies, “more importantly, everyone has a vision for the world beyond their lives. It’s not too early to put that plan in place.”

When Manion conjures that vision in her own mind’s eye, she sees all the shared traditions that bind Johnnies across the years and draw them home. “Reading, singing, discussing books and ideas together—and supporting one another, first as students and then as alumni,” she says. “I really feel like those are gifts this community has given me. My legacy is another gift back.”

Save the date for Homecoming 2025: Santa Fe: September 12–14; Annapolis: September 26–28.