What I learned from Alumni Relations

I am a fourth year Therapeutic Recreation student and I am currently on my last co-op term working for Alumni Relations. While working as the Alumni Outreach Assistant I was able to help run the Navigating the University Admissions Process event in Oakville. Approximately 175 alumni, their friends and their university aged children, nieces, nephews, and cousins joined Alumni Relations and Marketing & Undergraduate Recruitment to learn about the process of applying to university and life at the University of Waterloo. During the event there were faculty and student service booths set up to provide information about Waterloo programs and student life. There were also presentations about the university application process, how to succeed at Waterloo and an alumni perspective of how Waterloo impacts students’ lives. This event and working for Alumni Relations has taught me more about what happens after you graduate from university than I could have ever imagined.

While at the event I was able to hear stories from alumni about what life was like when they were at UWaterloo. It was also great to see how happy the alumni were as they shared their UWaterloo knowledge with their children and friends. This event showed me how proud many of our UWaterloo alumni are of their degrees and experiences they had here at the University. It also brought insight into how important events such as these are for connecting alumni back to UWaterloo.

In past co-op positions as well as in my volunteer position with Health Education, I have led and executed events that have been for current students, faculty, staff and community members. In Alumni Relations, I was able to get a glimpse of how alumni interact with the university. I learned about the perks of being an alumna, how alumni have given back to UWaterloo, as well as how alumni stay connected to the University they lived and breathed in for four years. The university experience does not end once you have received you degree, it just changes. Working as the Alumni Outreach Assistant helped me see that no matter where I go in life, what I experience here at UWaterloo will stay with me. The University helped me grow into the person I am and I know staying connected to UWaterloo and event planning are two things I will continue to do once I graduate.