A five-year yellow jacket reunion at Homecoming reveals God’s transforming work

By Bella Agnello

Pictured left to right: Stephanie Frei, Abby Barber, Kaitlyn Ring and Whitney O’Brien

Beyond the cardboard canoe race and Spirit Week, what makes Homecoming so special is that it allows alumni to reflect on their four years at Cedarville and witness what God is continuing to do. 

In 2019, a group of friends made a promise to one another that they would come back to campus together for their five-year reunion. In 2024, Whitney O’Brien, Kaitlyn Ring, Abby Barber and Stephanie Frei finally reunited on campus.

The friends met in several ways, whether it was swing dancing, class or brushing their teeth. They all ended up living in the same hall together, where their sisterhood deepened through massage nights and honest conversations.

After college, the friends stayed connected through letters, phone calls and trips, and even attended Stephanie and Abby’s weddings.

“Abby doesn’t live next door, Stephanie doesn’t live two doors down, and that part is hard,” Ring said. “But any time we’re back together, whether that’s for a wedding or a trip, you kind of pick right back up. Any time I’m on the phone with someone it’s like we’re sitting in each other’s rooms.”

Being back on campus all together reminded them of the countless moments that strengthened their friendship.

“We just did a lot of life together,” Frei said. “Even just walking around campus today, there have been so many memories we’ve been remembering together. The last time we were all walking on the sidewalk was on graduation morning and we were reflecting on the deepened friendships we made. We all knew there was no ‘last.’”

O’Brien, Ring, Barber and Frei walked around campus during Homecoming and noted several differences: the dining options expanded from the dining hall and The Hive(known up until two years ago as Stingers, and now Panda Express), new dorms were built, the Cedarville rock relocated and there are no more individual mailboxes.

Despite the many changes on campus, Cedarville at its core was the same.

“It’s cool to see how the heart of Cedarville has remained the same and is truly focused on the Gospel,” O’Brien said.

During chapel on Friday, the friends sat in the seats that they sat in during their college years. During worship, they got to look around and reflect on the moments God revealed his sovereignty to them as students.

“Standing there, we reminisced of the Lord’s faithfulness,” Frei said. “I knew the Lord was pursuing me while I was here.”

Their time as Yellow Jackets is not over. Though they graduated and moved to various parts of the world, Barber knows she and her friends are part of the Cedarville family for life.

“I’m extremely proud of Cedarville because I know it’s a family rooted in the Lord, in excellence and in passion, and it stands for so much – that’s amazing,” Barber said. “And I’m proud to be part of it.”

O’Brien also sees how Cedarville continues to impact her life now, five years later.

“There are two things Dr. White says all the time: ‘God is faithful and you can trust Him,’ and ‘no Bible no breakfast,’” O’Brien said. “That’s truly what I think about on a daily basis and I’m so grateful to have attended this school and say I’m an alum of Cedarville because truly I got to see them stand on the truth, and that’s never going to fail.”

*Photo by Bella Agnello

Bella Agnello is a junior Broadcasting, Digital Media and Journalism major with a concentration in Journalism. She enjoys thrifting, listening to records and reading classic Russian literature in her spare time.