While music, food, and carnival rides filled WashU’s campus during the annual Thurtene Carnival on a sunny April Saturday, another kind of celebration was happening nearby. Inside Ibby’s at the Danforth University Center, alumni from WashU Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS), formerly University College, gathered for a reunion that spanned generations.
The event brought together graduates from across the decades—recent certificate earners from 2024 sharing laughs and stories with alumni who walked the same halls back in 1967. Many had never met before, but they quickly found common ground in their shared experience of returning to school, balancing education with work and family, and pursuing personal and professional growth. They reminisced about late-night study sessions, inspiring professors, and the sheer joy of intellectual discovery, regardless of the decade they earned their degrees.
For many, CAPS had been more than just a path to a diploma – it was a lifeline. It represented a chance to pivot careers, to deepen passions, to finally pursue a dream put on hold. The room hummed with the quiet triumphs of individuals who, at different stages of their lives, had embraced the challenge of education.
One alumna, a woman who had returned to school after raising her children and graduated in the early 2000s, spoke of the profound impact CAPS had on her confidence. “I always knew I wanted to finish my degree,” she shared, her eyes sparkling. “CAPS made it possible. It wasn’t just the classes; it was the supportive community, the feeling that they truly believed in me.”
A younger alumnus, who had completed a professional development certificate just last year, echoed this sentiment. “CAPS gave me the specific skills I needed to advance in my field,” he explained. “And being here today, connecting with people who have walked similar paths, is incredibly inspiring.”
The reunion wasn’t just about looking back; it was about forging new connections. Alumni exchanged contact information, discussed career opportunities, discovered shared interests, and had a chance to learn about future plans for CAPS from Dean Sean Armstrong.
Armstrong, intent on hearing the impact CAPS has had over the years, moved through the crowd, listening to stories, and sharing his vision for as a vital cornerstone of the University’s “In St. Louis, For St. Louis” initiative. He spoke of the deep commitment to providing accessible and relevant education that empowers individuals within the community to reach their full potential.
The reunion served as a powerful reminder that the journey of education is a lifelong adventure, and that the WashU CAPS community stands ready to support learners at every step of the way, contributing to a brighter future, one empowered individual at a time, right here “In St. Louis, For St. Louis.”
