Student Alumni Association prepares for the future
The Student Alumni Association started in the fall of 2001 when a group of
seven students began meeting weekly with Lauralee
Hagen ’75, ’78, director for Alumni and Parent Relations.
Their goal was to create a new PLU student organization that would not only
assist the Alumni and Parent Relations office
with their programming efforts, but also would work to connect alumni and
students in meaningful ways. In short, they hoped to create new and better
ways to raise loyal Lutes, which has become their slogan.
Excitement grew as the charter members of the Student Alumni Association
began to recognize all the potential benefits of engaging current students
in the work of the alumni office and the alumni association.
The result was the Student Alumni Association (SAA) officially became a campus
organization recognized by ASPLU last spring. Fifteen students were named
to the SAA Leadership Team, an aggressive and dynamic set of plans was developed,
and at fall orientation, the new Student Alumni Association was introduced
to the entire student body.
The purpose of the PLU Student Alumni Association is to:
• Promote Pacific Lutheran University, as well as its interests and goals, among future, current and past students and friends of the university.
• Instill within students the idea that their involvement with the universi- ty can and should be a lifelong commitment.
• Assist the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations and the Alumni Board in serving the university by: linking its past by celebrating its heritage; its present by supporting its programs, and its future by ensuring its stability.
Elisabeth Pynn ’03, a senior from Walnut Creek Calif., is the first executive director of this student organization. The other members of the leadership team include Doug Baxter ’03 (Gresham, Ore.), Erin McLaughlin ’05 (Waverly, Iowa), Scott Stauffer ’05 (Portland, Ore.), Amanda McCarty ’04 (Sartell, Minn.), Abby Buck ’03 (Portland, Ore.), Patrick Marquardt ’02 (Honolulu, Hawaii), Tim Vialpando ’02 (Westminster, Colo.), Liz Hood ’04 (Kapa’a, Hawaii), Laura Young ’05 (Sammamish, Wash.), Nova Schauss ’04 (Fircrest, Wash.), Amy Kostelecky ’05 (Puyallup, Wash.), Kristyn Smithers ’03 (Caldwell, Idaho), Jillian Clark ’03 (Redding, Calif.), Solveig Berg ’05(Martinsdale, Mont). Charter members who have now graduated include Heather Dewey ’01 (Gresham, Ore.), and Nicholas Gorne ’02 (Gig Harbor, Wash.).
Contact saa@plu.edu or 253-535-7413.
Alumni College 2003 at Holden Village
Mark your calendar for Pacific Lutheran University Alumni College August 17-22, 2003. This year’s college, taught by several PLU faculty and staff, will be held at Holden Village, located in the mountains near Chelan, Wash. All PLU alumni, parents, and friends are invited to come for a family vacation or a personal retreat. Call Alumni and Parent Relations at 800-ALUM-PLU for reservations.