Virtual Homecoming is a chance to keep the Hawkeye spirit alive by sharing a "homecoming message" with the UI community, regardless of where you are in the world.

Virtual Homecoming is a chance to keep the Hawkeye spirit alive by sharing a "homecoming message" with the UI community, regardless of where you are in the world. Show your school spirit by giving a shout out to the Hawkeyes from your corner of the globe, or by sharing a memory from your time at Iowa!

Phoobala Naidoo, who to Iowa from South Africa during apartheid, graduated from the University of Iowa in 1990, where he received his PhD in counselor education. He currently resides in Blair Athol, New South Wales, Australia, where he serves underserved and needy populations. 

Diane Jahnel, originally from Anamosa, Iowa, graduated from the University of Iowa in 1977, where she studied psychology and art. After a 34 year career in IT at Pearson, Jahnel retired and is now living in Paris, France, where she’s spent the past two years teaching English as a volunteer, taking French classes, and traveling.

Yezi Shen graduated from the University of Iowa in 2015, where she studied journalism and mass communication, and cinema. Since then, she’s returned to her home country, China, where she now works in television programming.

Originally from Irbid, Jordan, Nayef Saleh Al Gharaibeh graduated from the University of Iowa in 1988 with his Ph.D. in physiology and biophysics. He returned to his home country where he currently teaches physiology at the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST), and has also held positions as the chairman of the Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, director of the JUST Health Center, and the vice dean of Faculty of Medicine.

Cheng-I Chu, “Chu,” graduated from the Ph.D. program in health policy and management at the University of Iowa in 2001. He now resides in Hualien, Taiwan, where he is the professor and department chair at the Department of Public Health, Tzu Chi University in Taiwan.

Dr. Darren R. Grafius is originally from East Lansing, Michigan, and graduated from the University of Iowa in 2012 with a degree in geography. Today, he resides in the United Kingdom, where he moved to be with his partner, and now works as a post-doctoral research fellow at Cranfield University. The focus of his work is conducting environmental modeling and ecosystem services assessment as part of a government-funded consortium project studying biodiversity in urban landscapes.

Hau-Wong Ho came to the UI, at the time called State University of Iowa, from Hong Kong in 1956. Having previously received his bachelor’s degree upon arriving, he spent only one year taking 48 credit hours and eventually obtained his B.S. in civil engineering to go on to hydraulics. Ho later received his M.S. in 1957.

"Unforgettable" is one word international alumni Yitong (Yu Wang) Wang would use to describe her University of Iowa experience.

Darren Grafius graduated from the University of Iowa in 2011 with a PhD in geography. Since graduating, he has moved to the United Kingdom, where he is proud to have gotten married and bought a house with his husband. Darren is currently employed as a post-doctoral research fellow at Cranfield University, where he works on a government-funded consortium project studying ecosystem services and biodiversity in urban environments.

Zubaidah Dahlui hails from Bangi, Malaysia, which is a small town approximately twenty-five miles south of Kuala Lumpur. She graduated from the University of Iowa in 1987 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Economics.