#LoveAlumni: 3 groups to celebrate this month!
February is the perfect time to celebrate and recognize the potential of alumni! Let’s debunk the myth that alumni is only linked to fundraising gifts. This is not diminishing this important endeavor of financial giving, we just want to focus on so much more. By raising awareness to our institutions, our students, our alumni and […]
Want to energize your alumni work in 2023? Get that sparkle by starting here!
Alumni relations is a joy. Whenever I speak to alumni-facing professionals, they share their joy connecting with alumni. It’s satisfying, meaningful work. Sometimes, it comes at a cost. Often, it’s a personal cost. Alumni engagement is a hectic, always-on activity. More than a can-do attitude, you need a level of energy dialed to 10 (or […]
4 Questions to Embed a Networking Mindset for Your Alumni – and for Impact
Networking is more than mingling at an alumni reunion. In the Creating Connection Webinar hosted and organized by Aluminati, earlier this week, I navigated a journey of building a networking mindset for the next generation of students, graduates, and alumni. I started the event by asking the simple question: Why do we want our students […]
Networking is changing? Dive in and learn more!
How is networking changing? Taking a break from some deep work, I found myself on a journey down a path to exploring this question. Hint: it involves alumni, habit and impact. The full article is published on LinkedIn: Something has changed about networking…hint it involves alumni and impact Here’s a snippet: “we can offer students […]
Yes, I’m an Alumni Romantic
Last year, in the throes of trying to finish my final book manuscript and in the middle of yet another COVID-19 lockdown, I had a bout of alumni romanticism. It was inevitable: I was writing and talking about alumni all the time, immersed in its potential. This article was the result- and apart from the […]
From a distance: Alumni Connection from the Insight – Out
After only a month into my new role as Interim President and Chair of the Alumni Association Board at the University of St Michael’s College – University of Toronto – I wrote about my experience connecting at such a distance- it’s easier than you think! Here’s a quote: “The future of alumni connection is one […]
Virtual Book Tour – October and November Events!
Virtual Book Tour – Events for Alumni, Career, and Advancement Professionals Are you curious to learn more about The Alumni Way book? Wonder how it might support your work with students and alumni (and for the students and alumni themselves!). Here’s a chance to attend and participate in online events organized as part of the virtual book […]
Transforming Society Podcast: ‘Bursting with enthusiasm’ for our alumni potential (39 min)
Released on Book Launch day, this is an episode of the publisher’s podcast Transforming Society. Host Rebecca Megson-Smith interviews Maria on the ideas sprinkled throughout the book related to alumni potential. Rebecca starts the interview by saying: “The Alumni Way is bursting with enthusiasm for the potential our alumni identities and networks offer us. It’s really […]
Podcast alert: The Alumni Way IS for Everyday
In late August, I recorded a podcast with the formidable Dr Shelli Ann Garland. Shelli is the host of the successful sociology of education podcast A Dash of SaLT. I was very motivated to want to be included as a guest on Shelli’s podcast, for two reasons: 1- SaLT in this case stands for Society […]