[Thing2_1723]

I graduated from high school in 2012 and I tried really hard to stay in touch with my team. Unfortunately, school puts me 3 and a half hours from my hometown so I was only able to go to kickoff in 2013 and one build day before heading back to Rolla. Both times I showed up, those who knew who I was were ecstatic to see me and I felt very welcome. My team has always prided itself on being student built and student lead so I had many of my friends explain to me what they were doing and planning to do in the coming weeks. This past year was completely different; I was caught in a snowstorm stuck for a week in St. Louis and unable to make it to kickoff. I was able to make it to one build day, but the mood had completely changed (except for about 4 people who had been on the team my senior year). I was ignored by about 80% of the team. Over the weekend, I drove to St. Louis to cheer them on and the trend followed. I can only assume that this was because none of them knew who I was. I really want the students that go through this team to know not just who I am, but the people who where on the team with me and before me.

While in college, I have joined a(n engineering) sorority and we do our best to have the best alumni relationships that we can. I know more alumnae from my sorority that graduated before I even started college than I know members on my old team. I know that one of my sisters graduating next month has started working on putting together an alumnae association for our chapter so we have better contact.

Does your team have an alumni association? What did that creation process look like? Did it work? How many people are involved? What information do you get from the team and how often? I would love to continue to be a part of this team even from 203 miles away.