A keynote presentation and performance by Miss Michigan Octavia Reese will be among the highlights of Alumni Weekend at Hope College, and is open to the entire community.

Reese, a 2005 Hope graduate and a classical cellist, will share her experiences as Miss Michigan and perform as the weekend's keynote event on Saturday, May 6, at 1 p.m. in Wichers Auditorium of Nykerk Hall of Music.

The public is invited. Admission is free.

Reese, who is originally from Detroit, majored in classical studies and French at Hope. Involved in numerous student activities, she was also a member of the college's orchestra and Symphonette. She participated in the Hope College Vienna Summer School in the summer of 2002, and spent the spring 2004 semester studying abroad in Rennes, France.

She received a coveted Fulbright-recommended assistantship from the French government to spend 2005-06 teaching in France, but those plans changed when she was crowned Miss Michigan on Saturday, June 19, 2005. She competed as Miss Wayne County and was one of 29 women from across the state to participate in the event, which was held at the Frauenthal Theater in Muskegon. As Miss Michigan, she competed in the Miss America Pageant at the Aladdin Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nev., in January. She will participate in the Tulip Time Festival's Meijer Muziekparade on Saturday, May 13.

Reese's talk and performance at Hope will be among a variety of activities scheduled during the college's May 5-7 Alumni Weekend. Highlights of the weekend will also include reunion events for every fifth class from 1941 to 1981, an open house at the President's Home, driving tours of campus, the presentation of Distinguished Alumni Awards to four alumni and the annual Alumni Banquet. Additional information about Alumni Weekend may be obtained by calling the college's Office of Alumni and Parent Relations at (616) 395-7250.

Nykerk Hall of Music is located in the central Hope campus, along the former 12th Street between College and Columbia avenues.