UVSC Alumni

What a great week this has been for the UVSC Alumni Office.  Our new online community update went live without very many hitches - at least not as far as the users can tell.  I learned how to use more of the site and made a form for students to nominate their favorite teachers.   This will probably lead to more forms and more sophisticated surveys in the future.

I was contacted by several alumni this week for various reasons, but mostly because they just wanted me to know they liked the changes we were making.  I’m hoping that continues.  I was sent the initial results from a marketing survey we sent to alumni.  They were very interesting. They told me that some of what we are doing is right on track.  They also told me how we can be more effective, which was why we sent the survey.  We’ll work the results into our strategic plan and see if we can start engaging even more alumni.

One of the most difficult things about my job is that I get so excited for what we can do, and then have to face the reality that one director and one secretary can only do so much.  Thankfully, I have wonderful volunteers who are involved and who are making a difference too. 

Years ago, my husband and I were in a little town in Arizona visiting family.  As we were being given the tour, our guide remarked that there was a “buzz” in the town and asked if we could feel it.  No, we really couldn’t feel the buzz, it looked like a little sleepy town that hadn’t changed in years and was not likely to change anytime soon.  Well, it took a while, but Phoenix residents “discovered” the little town and eventually it really did start to grow.  I feel like there is a buzz in the UVSC alumni association.  Not everyone can feel it, but those who can get as excited as I do.  Feel the buzz?

Now that I’ve been blogging for a few days, I can see why it becomes so addictive.  Everywhere I go now I’m thinking about how or if I could blog about it. My only limitation is time and reasonableness.  I could blog about everything in my day, but would that really be very interesting?  I’m guessing no.

But what was really interesting about today is that I met another UVSC alumni.  His name is Tom LeFevre and he graduated from UTC in 1956!  He was an electrican for Provo City for over 30 years and put the knowledge he gained at UTC into practice.  He attended the old South Provo Campus (it was located near the current Sam’s Club on South University Ave).  Tom and his wife Jennie had nine children, of whom four either attended or taught at UVSC. 

It was great talking to Tom and Jennie. Tom started to rattle off names of instructors like he was reading a Who’s Who of UVSC.  We are searching for the oldest degree recipient of UVSC and I think Tom holds the honor, for now.  It was really wonderful to meet someone whose entire career was based on what they learned at UVSC. 

I met another UVSC alumni today who is grateful for his UVSC knowledge.  Matt Merrill works for a local investment company and couldn’t be more enthusiastic about his UVSC education.  He has connected with John Shoaf (another UVSC alumni) who is working in New York. They want to put a UVSC alumni network together.  Both young men are very talented and very loyal UVSC supporters. They make me so proud!

Matt is the President Elect for the School of Business Alumni Chapter. He will be taking over for Brian Wall, who has done a stellar job as President of the chapter board.  The amazing thing is even though they have young families and are busy building their careers, they are still willing to take time to volunteer for UVSC.  I can only imagine what they’ll be doing 20 years from now!

We hired a new student for our office and I’m very excited!  Sam West will be joining us. Even though Sam is a Freshman, he has all kinds of experience with graphic programs and all kinds of marketing ideas. If I can dream it or see it, he can reproduce it.  He will probably be able to figure out how I can imbed photos into my blogs!  And, he will help us update the website to make it more interesting.  The possibilities are endless and I can’t wait to see how things evolve!