ISU Homecoming Parade showcases pride, love of university

NORMAL — Nearly 2,000 people lined the campus streets at Illinois State University and cheered for their friends, family and alma mater Saturday during the 2024 ISU Homecoming Parade.

Led by ISU cheerleaders and the Big Red Marching Machine, current and former students, with mascots and university officials, community organizers and first responders, marched along College Avenue through the heart of campus as generations of Redbirds and their families descended upon Normal for homecoming.

"It makes me proud," said Marcia Rossi, who graduated with her first degree from ISU in 1972.

"We still have a parade, and we still have youth, and we still have the best marching band in the country," she said.

Enjoying the parade

Valencia Carter traveled from Chicago to see her 18-year-old son, Xavier, march and play trumpet in the parade.

"I'm so proud of him, like, I'm coming out of my skin," Carter said.

Watching the young trumpeter grow from fifth grade band to college marching band is a moving experience, said Kelly Redmond, Xavier Carter's aunt.

"I'm near tears," Redmond said. "Like, just the sense of accomplishment in having gotten him this far, and then watching him continue his career in college ... it's just, it's wonderful."

Having graduated from ISU in May, Natalie Schluter attended the parade for the first time as alum on Saturday.

"I'm really excited to see all my friends," she said. "And I used to be on the cheer team."

When she was a student, Schluter marched in the parade, she said.

"I've never gotten to see it, so it's really exciting," she said. "I didn't realize how many people were in it, actually."

Marching with enthusiasm

Marching with the Big Red Marching Machine is exhilarating, said drum major Joanie Hitt, 20.

"Coming here and being a part of an organization as big and as wonderful as this, it's completely mind-blowing," Hitt said.

This is her third year marching with the band, and each time is uplifting, she said.

"I mean, the energy that we have in between sections is absolutely wonderful," Hitt said.

The Big Red Marching Machine's energy is what brought Chicago native Philip Johnson, 18, to join ISU, he said.

The freshman marched in the parade for the first time Saturday, playing the baritone horn.

"It was amazing," Johnson said afterward. "I've been around Illinois State for a long time. I've been coming to their band competition since I was in high school."

His day was not over, though, as the band would later play for the Redbirds' homecoming football game, he said.

"Now that it's over, (I'm) just getting prepared to be in the mentality for our performance at the football game," Johnson said.

He said he was looking forward to "seeing how much the fans react to how much we give in the music and how much they love it."

Strong roots

ISU offers many degree paths, but it is historically known as a teachers college.

In fact, Schluter now teaches middle school in her hometown of Gifford, she said, and Johnson said he is studying music education.

Rossi's first degree in 1972 was in special education, followed in 1976 by a master's in the same, she said.

"I taught special ed. I taught regular ed. I was a school administrator," Rossi said. "I've done lots of things."

Rossi was inspired by one her own teachers to attend ISU, she said.

"I wanted to be a teacher. And a teacher I knew who taught special ed said, 'I went to Illinois State.' I said, 'Good enough for me,'" Rossi said.

She has a special relationship with ISU, even serving as principal for several years at Thomas Metcalf Elementary School, one of the university's lab schools, she said.

All of that education took her to several institutions across the country, including earning an advanced degree from Harvard University, Rossi said, but ISU started that journey.

"People say, 'You went to Harvard?' And I say, 'Only because I went to Illinois State first.' They taught us to think and ask questions," she said.

Photos: Redbird homecoming takes flight with uptown tree lighting