Bunny Bash Draws Alumni, Family to UTD Campus

A sense of excitement filled the air at The University of Texas at Dallas as a crowd of more than 170 gathered near the Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center on April 9. Thousands of colorful objects could be seen among the trees and throughout the grounds, and anticipation only grew as a countdown marked the start of the Easter egg hunt at the first UT Dallas Bunny Bash.

Open to alumni and the Comet community, the event welcomed spring with family activities on the alumni center lawn. Guests took part in an Easter egg hunt boasting 3,500 eggs to ensure no child went home empty-handed. Along with opportunities to take photos with the Easter Bunny, visitors also enjoyed games and crafts, face painting and sweet treats.

“We know our alumni are looking for ways to connect with UT Dallas,” said Brennae Wright, director of alumni and annual giving programming at the University. “With so many Comets in Dallas-Fort Worth, our goal is to provide programming that meets people where they are in the community and welcomes them back on campus.”

Alumni couple Allison Wippert BS’11, MS’12 and Kyle Wippert BS’11, from McKinney, Texas, brought their children, Peyton, 2, and Cole, 5, to campus to enjoy Bunny Bash activities and see where their parents went to college. Allison said her son was especially excited to see where “the big kids” go to school.

“He said, ‘This is awesome! This is where you learned about the brain?’” Allison said. “It’s really fun to see him be so excited about UT Dallas.”

Allison studied neuroscience at UT Dallas, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. She’s now a technician working in surgical neurophysiology for Texas Interoperative Neural Monitoring in Dallas, the company that provided her with an internship while she earned her graduate degree.

Allison and Kyle, who studied software engineering at the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, met in a pre-calculus class during their first semester, dated through college and married after both graduated and started careers. Kyle works for Dassault Systèmes, a 3D design and engineering software company in Plano that, when known as No Magic Inc., sponsored his capstone senior design project before hiring him. The Wipperts are grateful for the education and career opportunities they received at UT Dallas.

“It fostered a place where we could learn but also be a part of Dallas and be close to so many opportunities in our industries,” Kyle said. “UTD led us to stable, well-paying jobs where we both have a good career path.”

Though he’s only 5 years old, Allison hopes someday their son will want to attend UT Dallas.

“This has been so fun,” she said. “I would love it if Cole went here, and I think getting him involved now and seeing how much fun it is a great start.”