Reunion with International Alumni

Friday, September 12, 2014

Written by Erica Voisin, International Alumni Officer

In my role with Alumni Relations as the Alumni Officer, International,

Erica on her travels
I have the privilege of working with University of Waterloo alumni around the world.  I witness first-hand the tremendous impact our grads are having not only here in Canada but across the globe too and I am consistently inspired by their talent and tenacity. 

I have had the opportunity to travel the world in this job and not once have I left Canada and not seen a University of Waterloo sweatshirt, luggage tag, water bottle or some other badge of honour worn by our alumni.  In fact, the further away from campus I travel, the more the alumni I meet want to stay connected to their alma mater.  They want to see pictures of campus and hear stories about their professors and most of all, they want to know what student life at UWaterloo is like today.  Their pride in UWaterloo is what makes my job so much fun; they want to hear all about Waterloo and I love talking about it!

It is because of this pride and enthusiasm that I am SO excited to be introducing Reunion 2014 International.  To bring the spirit and tradition of Reunion to our alumni abroad is a very exciting project for me because I know how important this event will be to them.  It’s the next best thing to returning to Waterloo campus!  They will see highlights of our on campus Reunion, what campus looks like today with a really awesome aerial tour and the keynote lecture that our alumni in Waterloo will enjoy on Sept. 27 (only 12 hours later).  We are sending Reunion swag, signage and replicating Reunion activities to hopefully re-create our Waterloo energy in Hong Kong and Singapore.  I am really looking forward to seeing the pictures and wish I could be there to see it all come together! Reunion is about re-awakening and fostering the pride of our alumni and it’s about strengthening our Waterloo community, I am honoured to do this for our alumni living internationally. 

Erica with alumnus
This is the first year we’ve hosted an “official” Reunion outside of Waterloo and it’s been a really great experience working with our amazing volunteers and the University of Waterloo Hong Kong Foundation Offices to make it happen.  I know the end result will be great events that are not only re-connecting our alumni to each other and to campus but also, a strengthened global alumni network that each and every day helps the University of Waterloo get one step closer to its aspirations of being one of the most internationalized universities in Canada.