There are many reasons why Colgate is a very special university, but one that can sometimes go unnoticed as a current student is its incredible alumni network. This weekend, the Alumni Corporation Board of Directors was on campus meeting and networking with students. The 55 members of the Alumni Board serve in an advisory and service role to the university and are a fantastic example of our strong alumni base.
We were fortunate enough to spend some time with the Alumni Board while they were on campus. The questions that they asked of us were poignant, informed, and genuine. For some members, the questions were the same as many current students have asked: What is SGA working on? What would we want to see improved at Colgate? What new student groups are on campus? After talking about the recent Senate and Class Council elections, our various policy initiatives, and telling them all about The Game's Afoot, we were able to ask some questions of them as well.
Some of their answers we found to be extremely intriguing in the way that only history repeating itself could. One of the board members told us of an organization on campus that she led out of budget trouble several years ago, but that has since slipped back into financial difficulty. Others talked of what the university was like back when Donovan's Pub was a bar and the drinking age was 18, which led to discussions of the SGA's role in determining the venue's future. Another interested alumnus spoke of his ideas to make the Palace Theater a more utilized venue for Colgate events. All the advice and stories we gathered from the experience were useful, insightful and often led us in a direction we might have never considered.
We share these experiences in the hopes of reminding all Colgate students that our most valuable resource is not our buildings, or books or even the internet; rather, it's our alumni network. For a university of our size, we have an unprecedented number of successful and engaged alumni that are always willing to help out current Colgate students achieve success on campus or in professional life after graduation. We strongly encourage you to reach out to them through Careers Services and Alumni Affairs as often as possible.
