Coming ‘home’ to UAA as alumni

You graduated from UAA with the unforgettable Class of Your Year. What's the sense in looking back? For hundreds of alumni who have recently reconnected with UAA, it's not as much about recapturing the past as it is looking toward the future.

Alumnus Charles Gunther earned his bachelor's degree in justice from UAA in 1991 and he's candid when he says his experience at UAA was a blur.

"Up until recently, I have been preoccupied with my family and career," said Gunther, now a lawyer with a practice here in Anchorage. "When the oldest started kindergarten last year, it made me take stock in the years gone by, including my educational history. I guess you can say I have become a bit nostalgic!"

On a recent walk through campus, he was amazed at the evolution of campus from 1991 to 2014. But beyond the new and upgraded facilities across campus that transformed it, he said, from the community college he remembered to a capital-U University, Gunther has been taking note of the up-and-coming generations who will tap into UAA. He's since joined the UAA Alumni Association Board of Directors and the newly-formed Justice Alumni chapter.

"I hope my engagement as an alum will provide fellowship and give me the opportunity to learn more about the university so I might be a resource to other alums or prospective students who are considering entering college or perhaps studying justice or law," he said. "I also have selfish reasons for the university to succeed because I want a vibrant, healthy and high quality university where my own children may wish to attend in years to come!"

The Seawolf cheering section

For Teri Cothren, a Class of 1998 psychology and basketball alumna, one of the best parts of being a lifelong Seawolf is the ease with which she can round up a crowd of fellow Seawolf Athletics alumni to cheer alongside her in the stands at a game.

"It's fun. Period," she replied when asked why she chose to engage with UAA as an alumna.

Making it fun to be UAA alumni is a goal of UAA's Alumni Relations office. Nona Wilson, senior alumni relations specialist at UAA, is tasked with helping alumni connect with UAA, whether it's by helping them obtain a WolfCard and access various discounts and benefits available to alumni or by helping them form new alumni chapters. UAA currently boasts 12 alumni chapters, including Cothren's Seawolf Athletics Alumni and Gunther's Justice Alumni chapters, with new chapters emerging every couple months.

"We invite alumni back for fun stuff," said Wilson. "Nine-in-the-Spine (an alumni mini-golf tournament through campus), the opening of the Alaska Airlines Center, Green & Gold Gala, Homecoming, athletic events, etc. Without a strong alumni body, you can't have a strong university. We want them to connect with each other, and we want them to connect with the student body."

Two years ago, UAA rededicated resources to help alumni reconnect with UAA and connect with each other. They've hosted networking events in Washington, D.C., Seattle, Houston, Juneau, Chicago and Phoenix. For the last two years, they've rounded up dozens of UAA alumni for Seattle Mariners games and made time to stop for breakfast, lunch, dinner or coffee with alumni in cities throughout the U.S. whenever they travel.

With more than 45,000 alumni in Alaska and beyond, the networking potential is staggering. Wilson met with one Seawolf Athletics alumna last week who was eager to reconnect. "She said this was the opportunity she'd been waiting for since she graduated," said Wilson.

Cothren, whose story you can read as part of our I AM UAA series, also found a ready pool of proud alumni when she initially reached out.

"In 2007 I sent an email out to a bunch of my basketball teammates," she said. "Everyone responded in less than 24 hours. There's that camaraderie there."

So when she moved back to Anchorage in 2011, she knew the synergy was simmering among her fellow alums and volunteered to help UAA Athletics put together a student-athlete reunion that would coincide with the opening of the Alaska Airlines Center. It was a success and Cothren said in recent chats with alumni, everyone is eager to see another reunion, maybe in 10 years? Once every decade seems achievable to check in with their old teammates, reminisce and see how they might lend their support to the teams currently taking the court, the mats, the field and the ice at UAA.

"We're trying to create some traditions for UAA," said Cothren, echoing Wilson as she talked about alumni engagement and the fun events they're planning for the future.

Sound like something you'd be interested in? Your Alumni Relations experts are just a phone call or email away.

"It's worth it to come back to campus to see how we've grown," said Wilson. Or, for our far-away alumni, reconnect virtually and keep an eye out for upcoming events in your city. The Alumni Relations team has October visits planned for Chicago and Phoenix, and a November visit to Las Vegas is on the horizon.

Wherever you live, your success can inspire the next generation of UAA students.

Written by Jamie Gonzales, UAA Office of University Advancement