Soul Hoya Alumni Group

The Soul Hoya Alumni Group brings together Black alumni for their annual Soul Hoya Alumni Weekend which is held during the official Georgetown University Reunion Weekend. The mission of the Soul Hoyas is to encourage Black alumni of all schools and classes to come back for a weekend of reconnection, reflection, fellowship, service, and Soul Night.

The Soul Hoya Alumni Group was birthed in 2009 from a collection of Black Hoyas on Facebook. There were many that wanted to reconnect with our Alma Mater to reminisce about our lives as undergraduates on the Hilltop. A plan was hatched and executed, to “crash” the class of 1989’s 20^th reunion. That was how it all began.

For most Black students that attended Georgetown in the ’80s and ’90s, Soul Night at “The Pub” brings back fun memories. It was during these years that the University had an on-campus Pub and Sunday became the designated night for hip-hop/soul/house music. This weekly event attracted not only Hoyas but also Black students from schools in the surrounding DMV region. Soul Night would have the Pub jumping and it was with those fond memories in mind that we came up with the name Soul Hoya Alumni.

However, just as our Georgetown experience was about much more than a party, we wanted the weekend to also reflect the call to service that had been fostered in all of us by Georgetown’s Jesuit tradition. With only a few weeks to plan, we added a Saturday morning service project to our plans. After an impromptu, late Friday night gathering, a group of dedicated Soul Hoyas woke up early Saturday morning to pack and deliver food to seniors and families in need. We ended the day with a Soul Night-style party at a DC nightclub. Great times ensued… and the tradition began.

The idea of “crashing” the recognized year’s reunion continued as more Black alumni from various years made the trip back to the Hilltop. The consensus was that we should continue to make this an annual event, encouraging more Black alumni to return not only for the Soul Night party but for the main Georgetown Reunion as well.

What began as a party planned by ’80s and ‘90s alumni, grew into a movement to encourage all Black Georgetown Alumni, regardless of their class year or which school they attended, to become reconnected with each other and the University that brought us all together. The Soul Hoya Alumni Group’s goal has always been to encourage more Black alumni to return to the Hilltop and, ultimately, to become re-engaged, support, and attend the annual Patrick Healy Dinner, bi-annual Black Alumni Summit, John Carrol weekend, Main Campus Reunion, Homecoming Weekend, and of course Soul Hoya Reunion Weekend. We are Family and Soul Hoya Weekend is our Family Reunion.

The Soul Hoya Alumni Group is a founding entity of the Georgetown University Black Alumni Council, the first-ever affinity group within the Georgetown University Alumni Association, with a mission to represent the voices, insight, input, and ideas of all Black alumni.

Service is what we do; Scholarship is what we inspire; Soul Night is how we celebrate!