“Tell me a story..." When my children were young, this was a request that I heard often. Story time was generally a pause in the day, a welcomed opportunity to think imaginatively and to explore the world with creativity. As my daughters entered their school years it was I who most often made the request for a story. The phrase had taken on a new meaning and was meant as an invitation to share the experiences that filled their days. I enjoyed gaining a glimpse of the world from their perspective. 

Today, my daughters are both college students. As they embark on a new school year and I prepare to explore the dynamics of an empty nest, I find myself reminiscing about those precious shared tales. Those simple, seemingly insignificant moments of sharing helped integrate our lives and bind us together.

Every time alumni come together, be it for gatherings as large as Homecoming or those as small as a one-on-one meeting, stories are shared. These tales include significant, life-altering encounters, love stories about meeting future spouses, stories about special professors that helped shape the future for their students, and of course, tales of friendships that have passed the test of time. Yet sometimes the most seemingly insignificant moments produce the fondest memories. I realize that in sharing their stories, the alumni of Winona State University not only relive their histories, they also find the common ground that brings them together.  

Alumni Relations is first and foremost about building and maintaining relationships among alumni and between those alumni and their alma mater. We are a service branch of the University and exist to meet the needs of our constituents. To that end, and with great enthusiasm, I want to share with you two significant changes in the alumni program at Winona State.  First, Mike Swenson '01 joined the Alumni Relations staff in early August and will serve as our new associate director. Mike will be responsible for online programming, area networks and young alumni programming. Second, beginning around the first of the year, Alumni Relations will roll out our new online community. 

I cannot begin to tell you the number of requests Alumni Relations has received in the five years that I have served as Director for assistance in locating former roommates, classmates and friends. Because we realize the significance of those relationships, we have worked diligently to secure a program that will enable Alumni Relations to facilitate those connections. Our new net community program is cutting edge and will allow WSU alumni to connect with one another in a variety of ways. You will be receiving additional information on this offering in the near future . . . so stay tuned. While exploring the possibilities online I invite you to share your favorite WSU story by sending it to alumni@winona.edu and we may post it on our web site.

So, tell me a story . . .  tell me your story.

Alumni in the Classroom

Last year, Alumni Relations partnered with the five colleges to bring notable alumni back to campus and into the classroom. We called it Alumni in the Classroom, and the response was overwhelming.

This year we're expanding the program and are now calling it Alumni

Last Modified: Thursday, October 05, 2006 14:01 by Rhone Richard