Sept. 22, 2025
Contact: Eric Stann, StannE@missouri.edu
At the University of Missouri, Homecoming is more than a football game or a parade. It’s the feeling of returning to a place that still feels like home.
For some alumni, Homecoming runs through family traditions, personal milestones and even career paths. Though their stories differ, each one is a reflection on the enduring draw of Columbia and the shared sense of belonging that brings Tigers back to campus year after year.
Meet four alumni whose journeys show just how powerful the Mizzou connection can be.
A family legacy
Annie John, BHS CDS ’20, comes from a long line of Tigers. Her grandfather, father, two aunts and older brother all graduated from Mizzou, while her younger brother continues to carry on the family tradition as a current student.
For the John family, Homecoming doubles as a family reunion. Each fall, they gather downtown to admire the decorations, wander through Greektown to see the house decs and cheer on the Tigers together at the game.
This year, the tradition takes on new meaning for John. It’s her first Homecoming as a faculty member in Mizzou’s College of Health Sciences. She said her late grandfather — a graduate of Mizzou’s College of Veterinary Medicine — would be especially proud that she’s returning to her roots and contributing as faculty, not only as a student.
John’s journey from fan to student to instructor has only strengthened her bond with Mizzou and Columbia. Now, she hopes to pass along that same sense of belonging to her own students.
“Homecoming always makes you feel like you are at home,” she said. “It’s when family ties grow stronger, traditions are renewed and memories are made to last.”
Forever Mizzou
For Jim Simmons, BS ’93, MD ’98, and Gema Simmons, BS ’94, MD ’98, Mizzou Homecoming is a celebration of their Tiger heritage.
Gema Simmons has attended every Homecoming weekend since her freshman year of college. Since she graduated from Mizzou’s College of Arts and Science and School of Medicine, she and her sorority sisters have made it a tradition to return to Columbia each year, keeping their college friendships alive.
That sense of community only grew deeper after she married Jim Simmons and they moved to Omaha, Nebraska, after completing their medical residencies. Surrounded by Nebraska Cornhusker fans in “Big Red Country,” the couple was determined to make sure their children grew up living and breathing Mizzou and everything black and gold. Their youngest went to his first Homecoming when he was only three months old. Today, all three sons are carrying on the family tradition — the oldest has already graduated from Mizzou, and the other two are current students.
Today, the family continues to cherish familiar Homecoming rituals, from tossing a football under the lights at Stankowski Field on Friday night to taking photos at the Columns. Gema Simmons particularly enjoys watching her children recreate the same poses each year, a tradition started by one of her three sisters, all Mizzou alumni.
Volunteerism is central to Jim and Gema Simmons’ Homecoming experience. Each year, they take part in the Mizzou Alumni Association’s Homecoming Check-In competition.
They help greet returning Tigers, checking them in and handing out buttons. They enjoy the friendly contest because it gives them a chance to showcase their M-I-Z spirit and connect with the wider Mizzou community.
“Mizzou just does Homecoming better than anywhere else,” Jim Simmons said. “The whole town comes alive, and you feel it everywhere you go.”
An enduring Tiger spirit
Mizzou Homecoming is a meaningful part of Kim Voss’ life, from her days as a student in Mizzou’s College of Education and Human Development to her decades of alumni leadership and volunteer work.
For Voss, BS Ed ’87, her earliest memory of Homecoming goes back to her freshman year at Mizzou, when she was helping her sorority build elaborate house decs.
“Back then, we covered an entire front lawn with chicken wire and tissue paper,” she said. “It was a lot of work, but it’s how I made some of my first college friendships.”
Today, Mizzou Homecoming remains one of her favorite times of the year. And one day, she hopes to share its magic with her grandchildren.
“It’s when the campus is alive, alumni return and traditions come together,” she said. “It reminds you why this place is so special. It’s not just about the football game — it’s about traditions, giving back and coming home.”
Voss has carried her love for the Tigers beyond Columbia by helping organize a satellite blood drive “in the spirit of Mizzou” to support the annual Homecoming blood drive.
What started as a new idea in 2014 with the Franklin County Mizzou Alumni Chapter has since grown into a cherished annual tradition in Washington, Missouri — a community southwest of St. Louis, about two hours from campus. Eleven years later, it’s still going strong.
The event’s continued success may have something to do with Voss’ legendary tiger paw brownies. Baked fresh in her kitchen, the three-inch-wide, inch-thick treats have become a beloved reward that donors look forward to after rolling up their sleeves.
But for Voss, the sweetest memories of Homecoming are the ones spent with family.
Nearly everyone in her family has attended Mizzou — her parents, husband, son and daughter with their spouses, her two sisters with their spouses, and even a niece and nephew. One year, when she rode in the parade on the College of Veterinary Medicine’s mule wagon, she was surrounded by most of them.
“That was really special,” she said. “It showed how much Mizzou is part of our family’s story.”
