A message from the WCAA President
Dear Wesleyan Alumnae, Greetings! It has been too long since we have seen each other in person at an Alumnae Weekend, but all is a go for April and we are having a party! I hope you have Alumnae Weekend 2022 (April 21 – 24) on your calendars and that you plan to join us. I am excited about the work that the Wesleyan College Alumnae Association Board of Managers is doing on your behalf. The pandemic caused an interruption in our normal work and gave us an opportunity to reflect on changes that would allow us to better serve Wesleyan. We will propose some changes over the next couple of years that we hope will lead us to a more equitable structure that meets the needs of Wesleyan today and in the future. We can only be effective if our board and board committees reflect the diversity of today's Wesleyan. This year we increased diversity on our board and we recognized affinity groups as well as alumnae clubs. Like alumnae clubs, affinity groups can be formal or informal, and although they may be geographic, they are more likely to be focused on careers, majors, faiths, ethnicities, hobbies, etc. With several already formed, our two most structured are the Sisters of the First Five and the Young Alumnae Club.
Because our discovery process showed a distinct need for more and better facilitation between our alumnae, Wesleyan's largest constituency, and the College and her student body, we are launching a new Engagement Leader Program this fall. We invited approximately 40 alums to participate and give us feedback. We will use their feedback to make changes before kicking off a more structured and larger group next year. We hope to have 100-150 alumnae volunteers lead this program in 2022-2023. These engagement leader volunteers are alumnae whose lives intersect in various ways with many other alumnae, and who are willing to be information conduits, sharing information and feedback between alumnae and the College. Thank you for the honor of serving as the alumnae association’s president. Our stories and lives intersect because we have Wesleyan in common. I fell in love with Wesleyan when I visited as a prospective student and that love continues today. Please feel free to reach out at any point (WesleyanBOM@gmail.com). I invite your input as we do our work together.
BECOME AN ENGAGEMENT LEADER
Join individual alumnae, alumnae group leaders, affinity group leaders, and class leaders as we engage with students and with Wesleyan College. • Share information from Wesleyan with her alumnae and provide opportunities for discussion • Proactively work with SGA leaders, staff, and administration to connect alumnae with students • Build alumnae networks that provide opportunities for alumnae to support each other • Identify new ways that alumnae can give back to Wesleyan To learn more or express an interest in becoming a part of the 2022-2023 engagement leader team scan this code or visit wesleyancollege.edu/ael WESmag Winter 2021
