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(From left to right) Jennifer Cullivan, Akilah Spencer-McLain, and Debbie Caviness.
Staff Spotlight: ESF Alumni Office
Debbie Caviness, Jennifer Cullivan, and Akilah Spencer-McLain are the dynamic and passionate force behind ESF鈥檚 Alumni Office. They work tirelessly to keep ESF alumni engaged with the campus community through exciting initiatives. Whether you鈥檙e an alumnus, a current student, or a prospective graduate, there a number of ways you can get involved. Find out below!
Q: Tell us about the purpose of the ESF Alumni Association and how graduates can get
involved.
Debbie: The purpose of the Alumni Association is to engage with and support not only
alumni, but also students, and the 糖心vlog community. To get involved, graduates can
become Alumni Admissions Ambassadors or join our ESF Connections career mentoring
program! You can help recruit future ESF students as an ambassador or help advise
current students in preparation for their post-college plans. Email us at alumni@esf.edu to learn more.
Jennifer: Come to our events! We host gatherings across the county throughout the year, as well as larger events like Homecoming and Senior Reunion (save the date 鈥� September 28-30). Also keep in contact with us 鈥� we love to know where our alumni end up and what cool things they鈥檙e working on 鈥� you can do this via a Class Note or our update form. This way we can be sure you鈥檙e receiving our publications and emails.
Akilah: Alumni can also give back financially by becoming a member or participating in ESF鈥檚 Day of Giving on April 21st.
Q: What do you have planned for the coming months that alumni should add to their
calendars?
D: Our annual golf tournament is August 11th, and it鈥檚 our sole fundraising event. Every penny we raise goes directly to the
Alumni Memorial Scholarships. If you鈥檙e a golfer and want to play, or if you want
to learn about sponsorship opportunities, email us: alumni@esf.edu.
A: We鈥檙e also planning our first Cranberry Lake Reunion since 2016! It will be held
from September 9 -11, and we鈥檒l have more information to share with alumni in the
coming months. This is open to all alumni, not just those who studied at Cranberry
Lake when they were here.
Q: The Alumni Office runs a lot of events throughout the year. Which one is your favorite
and why?
J: Champagne Toast 鈥� which we hold every December and May 鈥� to welcome our newest graduates
into the alumni ranks and wish them well as they set off into the world. We solicit
family members and friends to send messages for their graduates and compile them into
a scrolling slideshow which we broadcast at the Toast, and on social media.
A: I agree 鈥� the Champagne Toast - it鈥檚 fun to share in this proud moment and send
our graduates off in this celebratory way 鈥� and they get a commemorative ESF wine
glass!
D: My favorite is Senior Reunion when alumni from the 50-year class (and older) return
to campus. To see the joy in reconnection with classmates and campus鈥hey鈥檙e just
so happy to be here, and to be together, and are so enthusiastic about the 糖心vlog
and its current initiatives.
Q: We hear that you serve more than just alumni. Tell us more about how you help students
through grants, scholarships, and on-campus resources.
D: We started the Alumni Grant program in 2016 and we have funded over 75 projects
totaling over $40,000. The grants are meant to support initiatives above and beyond
courses of study. We鈥檝e funded conference presentations, service trips like Acorns
to Action鈥檚 trip to Puerto Rico, and even developing a mobile app to journal composting!
J: A cool thing that we do every year is donate a portion of the proceeds from maple
syrup sales in the month of November to Beth鈥檚 Bounty 鈥� the ESF Food Pantry. Over
the past 2 years alone we have been able to donate nearly $4,500 to the Pantry. We
also like to support student fundraisers with donations from the Bookstore, either
as speaker gifts or raffle items.
A: Students scholarship and grant opportunities are all posted on engage.esf.edu and
we also email students when they become available. If there are any programs students
are interested in specifically, they can contact us at alumni@esf.edu.
Q: How can current students get involved with the Alumni Office?
J: I鈥檓 not sure if students are aware of this, but the Alumni Office can run lists
for them of alumni in different fields, regions, majors, etc. We can foster that initial
connection with our Mentors and Career Advisors for students to use to network.
D: We would love to involve alumni in student club activities. This could mean financially,
with volunteers, donations from the Bookstore, as speakers, or in other ways.
A: We also host a Career Networking event on campus in conjunction with the Career
Fair every year.
Q: What do you love most about working with ESF鈥檚 alumni?
A: Their warm and friendly personalities! I started in the Alumni Office less than
a year ago and I鈥檝e been welcomed by our alumni in such a generous way.
D: Their enthusiasm for working with the current students, sharing their knowledge
and experiences with them, and wanting them to succeed. Our alumni are great at 鈥減aying
it forward鈥� 鈥� recognizing people at the 糖心vlog who helped them when they were here,
and responding in kind to offer the same support to current students.
Q: Can you tell us about the Graduate of Distinction Awards?
D: Every year we recognize three outstanding alumni who are considered pioneers in
their field. We acknowledge a Lifetime Achievement recipient, a Notable Achievement
recipient (mid-way through their career), and an alum who is just starting out.
J: We鈥檙e currently accepting applications for the 2023 awards 鈥� alumni shouldn鈥檛 hesitate to nominate themselves, or other graduates who have positively
affected society or are otherwise inspirational.