Three years ago, the Office of Alumni Relations began Young Alumni Happy Hours. This fresh series of events allows alumni who graduated in the past ten years to socialize and stay connected.
Meena Ghaziasgar ’03, Assistant Director of The Wooster Fund, said, “The young alumni programming was developed to respond to the needs and wants of young alumni. For example, a traditional alumni event such as a lecture series doesn’t always appeal to young people.”
The office of Alumni Relations realized that recent grads want to see old friends, have some drinks, reminisce and network.
“Many of our young alumni move to major metropolitan areas in the U.S., so this is a chance for them to make connections with other Wooster alums”, said Ghaziasgar.
The young alumni happy hours are not limited to the state of Ohio. Wooster’s young alumni can find an event in a variety of metropolitan cities across the country that have large concentrations of Wooster alumni.
“This year, Carolyn Ciriegio (Development Assistant) and I will be on the road traveling to cities including Cleveland, Columbus, Boston, Chicago, New York City, Denver, San Francisco, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Detroit, Pittsburgh and Akron ‚Ķ we invite all young alumni who live in the area where we hold the event, and they are welcome to bring friends, co-workers, spouses, and children, if the event is kid-friendly,” Ghaziasgar said.
This fall, there is a happy hour and beer tasting at the Dogfish Head Brewery in Rehoboth Beach with President Grant Cornwell. The brewmaster at Dogfish Head, Andy Tveekram ’85, is a Wooster alumnus.
The young alumni also enjoyed a Happy Hour in Columbus on Aug. 28, and are planning another Happy Hour in Boston, Mass. on Sept. 6. The College of Wooster Homecoming weekend is also a popular alumni event beginning on Oct. 17.
Young alumni can join the Facebook group “College of Wooster Young Alumni” to be updated on upcoming events held by the Office of Alumni Relations.
The group also includes a discussion board where alumni can ask questions to the office about events or anything else alumni related, photographs of events and even a link to a map that depicts where College of Wooster alumni live all over the country.
Ghaziasgar and Ciriegio’s hard work has certainly paid off.
“It’s been a really great way for us to connect with young alums and to help them connect with each other,” they said.