This Week in the Alumni Office
This week, we’ll explore who we are and what we do.
The Alumni Association was created in 1970 – that’s right next year, we’ll be 50 – to keep alumni from the Junior College and the College (as it was then) connected to Missouri Western. That mission has not changed. The Alumni Association is led by a 25 member board of directors. These alumni volunteers work with the office staff to identify strategic priorities which support the mission and goals of the University. The office staff carries out the day-to-day operations of the Association. We coordinate event logistics and marketing. I also travel and visit with alumni face-to-face or in small groups.
So, who are we? Who will answer the phone when you call? First and foremost, we have our outstanding student staff who not only work for the Alumni Office but also for Development, Public Relations, the Foundation and the Vice-President’s Office. When you call, you will most likely talk with Avionna, Brielle or Emelita.
Alicia Otto is the Administrative Coordinator for University Advancement. Like our students, she also has responsibilities in Development, Public Relations and the Vice-President’s Office. She holds things together and somehow manages to know my schedule better than I do. She also keeps our candy basket full. Alicia has worked at Missouri Western for almost eleven years, three of them in University Advancement. She is a proud mother and grandmother and is working towards her Bachelor of General Studies Degree, with Minors in Journalism and Entrepreneurship. In her spare time, Alicia is an avid photographer.
That leaves me. You probably know my name. I’ve been at Missouri Western since August 2006. Before moving to St. Joe, I lived just north of Tampa, FL where I was the alumni director at Saint Leo University. I also worked in the alumni office of my alma mater, Adrian College, in Michigan. Before getting into alumni work, I was a full time hall director at the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota (see a pattern here?) and was a graduate assistant at Virginia Tech where I completed my Master’s Degree in Higher Education Administration.
Stop by, call or email us anytime.
