Author Archives: klavery

SAA, HOTlanta Edition: CASE ASAP National Conference 2016

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Five of our SAA members and adviser Lindsay had a blast at the CASE ASAP National Conference in Atlanta this August, hosted by Georgia State University and Appalachian State University. We enjoyed networking with students from across the country and trying some local flavors (chicken and waffles, anyone?). The theme this year was “Share an Experience”, which truly captured the spirit of the conference.

You might have heard about CASE ASAP from some of our be wondering exactly what that long acronym means. The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (that’s a mouthful), more commonly known as CASE, is a professional organization that serves both students and advancement professionals who work in alumni relations, communications, development, and marketing.

ASAP (Associated Student Advancement Programs) is the branch of CASE that includes student alumni associations and student foundations and works to foster student involvement in educational advancement. It also provides resources to student who are considering a career in advancement, like our own Colleen Madden who agreed to share her experience at the National Conference. Read on below to get her insights!

It was an absolutely amazing experience to have attended the 2016 CASE ASAP Conference this past weekend in Atlanta, Georgia!  As a newer member of the UMass Student Alumni Association, I felt lucky to have the opportunity to get further involved with the organization and network nationally.

One of my favorite parts of the conference was being able to meet and share ideas with students across the country, from Rhode Island to Kansas to California!  I attended several sessions run by other schools and loved hearing about their traditions, community service events, recruitment processes, and more. With that, my head is flooded with new ideas that can be used to better our own alumni association and I cannot wait to share them with other UMass SAA members.

Even further, I found a passion for advancement.  I was actually able to attend a session that explored careers in advancement, which greatly helped me see the different paths I can consider for the future. Along with that, I was able to network with professionals within the field.  I now hope to become even further involved with CASE ASAP and all that it offers.

I truly enjoyed being able to explore Atlanta and create closer bonds with UMass SAA members, Helen, Katie, Mei and Sara, as well as our advisor Lindsay!  This bonding time made me excited to come back to UMass in the Fall and take part in the SAA Fall Retreat, where I will meet new members and create even more friendships within the organization!

Come One, Come All: Commencement Ball 2016

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With less than one month until the 18th Annual Commencement Ball, the Student Alumni Association has kicked preparation into high gear. Comm Ball celebrates the senior class, marking the end of their four years as UMass students and the beginning of their time as proud UMass Amherst alumni.

This year’s theme- A Night Under the Big Top – will feature circus inspired games, decor, and photo booths! The night will be completed with props that our members have already started to create. Last week, we got in the Comm Ball spirit with the help of Doc the clown, (aka Lindsay’s dad!), who showed off his balloon animal skills at our general body meeting.

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It might seem like all fun and games, but there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes…

The event has become so popular, it’s hosted in the Mullins Center, as opposed to the the Student Union as some alum may remember it! To give you an idea of how much this event has grown, check out last year’s numbers:

  • 2,500 people attended
  • 70 volunteer staff people
  • Tickets SOLD OUT by April 25th
  • hundreds of hours of prep time

SAA is pumped about this event and looks forward to making it a memorable night for members of the class of 2016. Stay tuned for more updates!

 

 

Running Bare Because We Care: Nearly Naked Mile Recap

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This past Friday, Homecoming weekend kicked off with the annual Nearly Naked Mile! Alumni, current students, and members of various RSO’s came together to run, for fun, to combat homelessness. In total, there were around 300 participants and about 5 large boxes of clothing collected for the Amherst Survival Center.

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Runners getting into the spirit with body paint supplied by UMass SAA and UMass Beautiful (photo by Su Ann   Koh)

The event was certainly a success due to the long hours of planning and organizing by the Student Alumni Association. This year, SAA expanded its network to invite more RSOs to take part in such a rewarding event. UMASS Beautiful, the Annual Fund, and WMUA are only a few of the RSOs that were invited to the Nearly Naked Mile. According to Dianna Bronchuk, coordinator of the NNM, “We pushed the NNM to be more than just a student event of fun and high spirits but really to give back to the community . . . With about 300 participants, anything is possible on campus.”

However, there is so much more that goes into the Nearly Naked Mile aside from the participants themselves! Rose Arslanian, Fall Traditions Chair, says, “Usually, most people tend to underestimate every technicality involved in planning an event like this on such a large scale: before I was so heavily involved as Fall Traditions Chair, I definitely overlooked all the details such as physically setting up the course with barricades and cones that were delivered, or actually staking lawn signs all over campus. Communication is also key to running such a successful event- with all hands on deck, there is no limit to what we can achieve!”

SAA members spent the weeks before the NNM tabling, creating lawn signs, and reaching out to students to get involved in the event, but they also were a necessary force at the NNM. They outlined the course for runners and helped to set up and take down the event on Friday. Students got the word out about homelessness, donated to the Amherst Survival Center, and had fun while doing it. Overall, the 2015 Nearly Naked Mile was an absolute success!

Getting ready to run (photo by Su Ann Koh)

Getting ready to run (photo by Su Ann Koh)

 

If you are interested in further helping out the ASC, please visit their website at http://amherstsurvival.org/donate/

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Photo by Amy Lightbody

-Ruthie Sterling, Guest Blogger

Open House & What’s In Store for Fall 2015

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The SAA welcomed a room full of new faces and returning members to the fall open house last Monday night, thanks to hours of recruitment efforts around campus. As always, there was a lot to talk about. Guests heard from our e-board, then sipped on mocktails as they rotated between stations to learn about our organization.

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First on the docket is the Mass Impact Day of Service on September 26th, during which current members and alumni will participate in a cleanup of Look Park in Northampton. Our fall retreat is another highly anticipated event coming up on October 2nd,  which provides the perfect opportunity for member bonding combined with festive fall activities and food.

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Of course, we can’t forget to mention UMass Homecoming Weekend, kicking off on October 16th this year with the nearly Naked Mile fun-run! This yearly tradition brings the campus community together for a good cause, with runners bringing clothing donations for the Amherst Survival Center. October 17th (game day!) begins with the homecoming parade. SAA members had so much fun decorating their float and riding in the parade last year that we have already started planning this year’s design.

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We return to Memorial Hall tonight at 7pm for our first general body meeting and are looking forward to seeing what each member can bring to the group. Stay tuned throughout the semester for more updates on SAA happenings!

-Katie Lavery, SAA VP of PR and Communications

 

Second Semester Forecast

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Welcome back SAA! After a successful fall semester and winter break, the SAA is gearing up to start the new year next week. We look forward to welcoming back current members, as well as any new recruits who would like to join the organization. There are also a few SAA members studying abroad this semester, and we can’t wait to hear about their adventures!

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Last semester, the SAA started out by planning the Nearly Naked Mile, and later on raised awareness for the Bears That Care Initiative. Both events were a success! Many of our members partook in our annual Fall retreat. The retreat included a “heads-up” type of word game to kick off the day, a colors personality quiz which helped us understand more about our leadership styles, and a team “building” activity, where we actually tried to build the tallest tower out of spaghetti. To this day there is still a dispute as to which team built the tallest pasta tower! In addition, we began planning for the 2015 Commencement Ball this spring, which always promises to be a great time for graduating seniors.

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RETREAT

These next few months are a busy time for the SAA! We have many different events right around the corner, including I Love UMass Day, the CASE ASAP Conference, and of course Commencement Ball. As always, SAA members will participate in various community service projects this semester throughout the UMass and Greater Amherst/Northampton Community.

In addition to our events and charitable efforts, we look forward to continuing our Minuteman Mentors program, a great resource that allows current students to contact UMass alums, or “mentors”, on LinkedIn to gain networking experience and career advice.

Last but not least, we’ll be working to promote the new Alumni Association license plate. This is a perfect way to show your UMass pride and give back to students, alumni, and the university.

If you’re interested in getting involved with SAA and the Alumni Association, send us an email at saa@stuaf.umass.edu.

We’ll provide more information on these events and more throughout the semester, but for now thanks for reading, and go UMass!

Bears That Care Update

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The Student Alumni Association is proud to announce a record- breaking year for our Bears that Care stuffed animal drive! This initiative, which ran between November 10 and November 21, collects donations of new stuffed bears and other furry friends to be given to local children in need during the holiday season.IMG_4862

This year, we received donations from a number of student organizations and members of the campus community, with many flooding in on the last day of the drive. Alpha Phi Omega led the way by contributing 28 bears – the most of any RSO on campus. Alumni and friends of the SAA also donated a total of $251 online, which helped us buy more bears. In the end, we exceeded our goals and were able to donate 175 stuffed animals!

Thank you Maddy and all who donated!

After tallying up the donations, the bears were prepared for delivery in festively wrapped holiday gift boxes and students delivered the bears during finals week. This year, our recipients included: the Amherst Survival Center, Safe Passage, Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Grace House, Shriners Hospital, and Gray House. The recipients were extremely grateful!1540466_871377862875444_3823633414820706285_o

Bears That Care would not have seen such success if not for the efforts of SAA Cabinet Member Maddy Monahan ’17 (Engagement Chair), who worked tirelessly coordinating the drive from start to finish. We are extremely grateful to all of our members and donors for their help in making the holidays brighter for those in need.