‘Thunderbird Changed My Life’ On a recent trip to India to visit with our amazing T-bird family there, I spent a few hours meeting candidates for the MGM program. They were all impressive, but one stood out. She was passionate about her subject area and interests and she articulately described to me her work and her desire to overlay a global framework to the set of ideas she has been formulating. I was struck by her innate need to ‘know the world’ in a much deeper and more meaningful way. It was so clear from our conversation that she is a T-bird. One of our senior faculty colleagues calls it, ‘the secret sauce.’ That passion for one’s discipline and curiosity about the world combined with a constant and hard-wired sense of network and community. I think these are the ingredients that we all see in front of us when we meet someone and realize they are, or should be, a T-bird. And then we combine that with the experience; the program, the classes, the faculty, foundations, the labs, the pub, and the people. What happens is both magical and incredibly consistent. Students bring so much with them to this experience, but they give just as much, and over and over again it changes or redirects or strengthens and informs their path. Around the world, from T-birds of all ages and backgrounds, I hear one message, ‘Thunderbird Changed My Life.’ With one notable exception. Several years ago over lunch in Miami with a truly amazing Thunderbird from the class of 1966, I listened as he recounted his journey; from Cuba to the US, from business and banking to politics and community development. As he summarized his experiences and framed
Patrick McDermott, Chief Engagement Officer it all as a result of his time at Thunderbird, I nodded and shared how often T-birds express this common thought, ‘Thunderbird Changed My Life.’ To my surprise, he shook his head, reached across the table, took my arm and replied, ‘Thunderbird did not change my life… Thunderbird gave me my life… I will do anything for Thunderbird.’ I share that story often as I meet with T-birds individually and in Chapter gatherings. It never fails to give me the same ‘goosebumps’ it did when it happened. Like the alumnus himself, it inspires me, and I hope it inspires all of us to do what we can for our beloved Thunderbird. We have had yet another incredible year. As Dean Khagram would say, we are 80% through the ‘transformation.’ I walked past the future home of our new global headquarters today, which is now under construction, and saw the first floor being put in place (read more on page 8). We opened regional centers in Jakarta, Nairobi, and Seoul last year and there are more on the way (page 16). We hosted the largest Global Reunion in the history of Thunderbird with over 500 T-birds from more than 30 countries. And, we raised over $15 million (US) from 832 alumni and friends around the world. Every day, Thunderbird takes another step forward. Every week, alumni visit our new home in Downtown Phoenix to tour the new headquarters site and get excited about our future. And every semester, another incredible group of new T-birds arrive to start their journeys. They arrive not with an expectation, but with a belief, that this School is special, that it provides more than just an education, it sets one on a path, and it opens a door to the world that they are eager to walk through. I can’t wait to meet them and later on down the road to hear their versions of how Thunderbird changed their lives. I know it has certainly changed mine, and like all of you and my friend in Miami, I shall be forever grateful for that.
Thunderbird Alumni gathering in Mumbai, India in November 2019
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Thunderbird Magazine Spring 2020
Thunderbird.asu.edu/magazine
