Mastering the introduction

Nice to meet you! 

Dear Friends,  

Have we met? Since January, new alumni-facing professionals, students, and alumni have signed up to this weekly newsletter. Glad you made it! 

I thought I would take this opportunity to introduce myself to you.  

Hi, I’m Maria and I am passionate about alumni connection. My mission is to mobilize alumni to reach their potential and to inspire alumni-facing professional to enable an environment for transformational alumni experiences.  

I fell into alumni work. In my first year at the University of Toronto, I volunteered for everything - including GRADitude the graduating class gift campaign (and I managed GRADitude after my own graduation!). I loved talking to new grads. Even then I saw the possibilities to connect alumni with their alma mater. When I moved to Ireland in 2002, my university portfolios ballooned from external relations, to strategic planning, to academic program design/delivery and research – which only strengthened my resolve on importance of the lifelong alumni-alma mater relationships.  

What do you do with a passion? Complete a doctorate! This translated into several published articles prior to The Alumni Way. More on my story here. I am a runner, a knitter, a swimmer. I enjoy thrifting and haven’t had a TV in over 20 years.  

Fast forward and I am proud that through KITE-Keep in Touch Education, the company I founded in 2017, I have worked with over 50 universities, governments, and agencies across 20 countries in 4 continents.  

What can I offer you?  

• Energizing, inspiring speaking engagements including keynotes (I am at the Max Planck Society Alumni Managers event in Munich as the keynote)

• Practical workshops on networking for your students and alumni  

• The Alumni Hour – an innovative new 6-week online programme to give students and alumni inspiration and the time to build their network and their career 

• Expert advisory, package of online sessions with your alumni team to inspire and build your own alumni engagement strategy and explore better engagement 

Your challenge this week: 

An introduction: think of connections in your network and see how they might create incredible synergies – reach out to both sides, make an e-mail or DM an introduction and watch the sparks fly!  

You are welcome to include me in your introductions (especially if someone you know could benefit from my work or The Alumni Way!). You can book a Discovery Call with me too! 

Yours in connection, 

Maria  

Quote from the book

“Confession time: I started working at my alma mater immediately after graduation. It allowed me to extend my cosy campus lifestyle as a student and be paid -  the best of both worlds.”

The Alumni Way, p. 81

Photo below: Outtake from my fun photoshoot in September!