Young alumni want more board activity
By JULIA MILLER--LEMON
News Writer
For many young Notre Dame alumni, graduating from the University presents one of the most significant changes of their lives. Thanks to an expanding network of young alumni, recent graduates are being provided with increasing opportunities for maintaining close ties with the life they had on the campus.
"When I graduated I was devastated. I loved Notre Dame so much and knew exactly who I was when I was there," said Laura Merritt-Bird, a 1996 graduate and current Young Alumni Director. "I had this wonderful family on campus, and I felt like that was ripped from me when I graduated," she said.
Two years after graduating from the University, Bird contacted her local alumni club in Wisconsin looking to reconnect with the community atmosphere that she left behind in South Bend. She now sits on the Board of Directors of Notre Dame's Alumni Association as a Young Alumni Director, part of a group composed of 26 voting members who oversee 210 local clubs in 18 Unites States regions, as well as 40 international clubs.
Until the early 1980s, there were no Young Alumni representatives sitting on the Alumni Board – there was no one providing a voice for the recent graduates. In 1980, members realized that there needed to be a better mechanism for young alumni to voice their concerns to the national board. Thus, the position of Young Alumni Director was born.
The primary purpose of Bird and the two other Young Alumni Directors is to encourage the active involvement of young alumni in their local clubs, as well as to makes sure that the Alumni Association provides "great opportunities for young alums to stay connected to the University," Bird said.
Aside from being a channel for graduates to stay connected to other members of the Notre Dame community, the clubs provide a number of different activities ranging from volunteer opportunities, special masses and group game watches. Bird said that the main mission of the club is to "keep people connected to each other and to the core values of the University."
While the Alumni Association does not provide a formal career placement service for recent graduates of the University, the organization has worked to increase awareness about the concerns of young alumni. "[It] has been very receptive to the changing needs of graduates," said Bird.
According to Bird, the Alumni Association wants to welcome every single person into this extended Notre Dame family. Part of this means that at the local level, members are generally very receptive about linking recent graduates with good contacts for career networking among the area alumni.
Bird also emphasized the importance for recent Notre Dame graduates of becoming involved in the Alumni Association in whatever regional area students live in after graduation. In addition to joining their local clubs, seniors should register on IrishOnline during mid-July, a directory of all alumni and a prime resource for locating the whereabouts of other alums, said Bird.
When recent graduates add their name and contact information to this database, they will be included on the Alumni Association's mailing list, a direct way to obtain more information about local clubs and happenings.
All News Stories for Monday, February 10, 2003
