Category Archives: Traditions

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I Love UMass Day, Minute Mobilizers, and MORE!

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What a great start to the semester it has been!

After some intense recruiting by current SAA members, we are so excited to announce that our Open House helped us recruit 18 new members! We are thrilled to welcome them to our organization and can’t wait to see what strengths they will bring to SAA. If you missed the Open House but still want to join, come by a meeting to get started. We are always accepting new members. SAA meets every Monday at 7:00 pm in Memorial Hall.

“I Love UMass Day is a great way to showcase school pride and allow students to share their appreciation by thanking donors for their generous support.” – Colleen Madden ‘18

With our new recruits and current members ready to get to work, we are excited to let you know about one of the first projects we will be working on this semester: I Love UMass Day. Students can stop by the Campus Center on Valentine’s Day to play some fun, free games and win some awesome prizes including UMass swag, gift cards, food, and more! Students can also write postcards to active donors thanking them for all of the contributions that they have made to our UMass Community. After collecting around 700 postcards last year, we are upping the ante and are hoping to collect 1,000 postcards this year! You can also show your love for all things UMass on social media using the hashtag #ILoveUMass. Better yet, snap a picture in our photo booth in the campus center and post using the hashtag for a chance to win additional prizes. This is a fun day filled with UMass pride and appreciation that you won’t want to miss, so come by the Campus Center on FEBRUARY 14th to get in on the fun!

“Minute Mobilizers is an easy way to learn about University news and sharing it on social media for my family and friends to see is just on of the ways I show my UMass Pride” -Shannon Emmett ‘19

Speaking of things you won’t want to miss, have you heard about the new UMass Minute Mobilizers Campaign? Started by the UMass Amherst Alumni Association, The Minute Mobilizers is a group of UMass students, staff, alumni, and supporters that share amazing and inspiring news about our UMass community. Each share gets the Minute Mobilizer closer to winning a prize. The best part is that YOU can become a Minute Mobilizer TODAY and start earning points towards UMass-themed prizes. Register and connect your social media accounts to begin sharing pre-generated articles with just a few clicks! To rack up even more points, start recruiting new Mobilizers using the link provided when you register. This initiative is an awesome way to spread love and excitement about UMass while competing with other Mobilizers for prizes.

If you are interested in joining, follow this link to get started:

https://my.socialtoaster.com/st/campaign_landing/iframe/?key=umassalumni

To Recap:

  1. There is still time to join SAA

  2. Join us in celebrating UMass by participating in I Love UMass day on February 14th

  3. Become a Minute Mobilizer to spread UMass spirit and win cool prizes

As always, thanks for reading!

Jamie Downer ‘19

Making an Impact: Mass Impact 2017

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Early this past Saturday morning our SAA members paired up with UMass Alumni to participate in Mass Impact Day. Mass Impact day is an annual day of service where many UMass Registered Student Organizations (RSO’s) come together in order to help the surrounding community. This is our fourth consecutive year participating in this event and we have found that our members and alumni really enjoy working together to help this wonderful cause.

This year we helped clean up the Connecticut River. Our members picked up trash along the riverbed and in the river itself. Erin Lemay, the social media coordinator of SAA attended and found it to be a really fulfilling experience:

We found various items of trash in the river itself and we were able to fill up at least five truckloads of trash to be properly disposed of. Even in the short amount of time we spent there it was easy to see how our work made a huge difference.

Both the students and Alumni concluded that they were happy that they went. We have found that our members really enjoy doing community service together.

In the last year we created a philanthropy committee to provide our members with ample opportunities to do community service. We are proud to announce that they have a lot of fun events coming up such as I Love UMass Day and volunteer opportunities at Craig’s Doors, to name a few. Kasey McKenzie, the chairman of community service in the philanthropy committee is eager to get members involved in all that they do. She says,

Philanthropy is important because not only does it show appreciation for others, but also improves the situation of others through donations or charitable service.

We are really excited to get more involved in more community service outreach and see what else Philanthropy has in store for us this year!

Written By:

Hallie Menchin

Publications Coordinator

Student Alumni Association

 

SAA brings you a compiled list of back to school tips!

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Now that school has been in session for a few weeks, we thought we would get together and ask each of our members, Freshman-Seniors, about some basic pointers to help everyone out on campus this fall.

1.) Take advantage of our #1 voted dining halls in the nation. Every UMass student proudly stands behind this. Our food is amazing. If you have back to back classes also try Worcester Grab-and-go! It is extremely underrated and trust me you will definitely want to stock up.

 

2.) PSA! Find your table before you get your food. Leave your backpack or UCard by your table. I promise no one will steal it! Nothing says freshman quite like walking around with your backpack and a plate of food (you’re welcome, no one wants to be that kid).

 

3.) Go watch the sunset by the Honors College and the intramural fields (Everyone does it). Trust us, this is the best spot for sunset pictures with the picturesque mountain background.

 

4.) Participate in events on campus (including the multicolor mile in just a few weeks)!

 

5.) Download the bus app onto your phone…DO THIS ASAP if you haven’t already. You will want to have this down to a science when the November chills hit or if you’re ever running late to class. In the meantime however, enjoy the beautiful, nice weather and walk to class!

 

6.) Attend a sporting event!

 

7.) Try waking up at the same time everyday and sticking to a similar weekly routine (I know this one gets hard sometimes with our hectic college lifestyles, but having a routine will make you feel more on-task, put together, and less stressed).

 

8.) SLEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!! Even one all nighter per semester can throw you off tremendously. Try your best to avoid these!

 

9.) Get to the Rec center early in the day (avoid the crowds and save that late afternoon time for some Netflix or even for a quick power nap).

 

10.) Go say Hi to Chancellor Subbaswamy! If you see him walking around campus give him a wave! He is extremely approachable, and loves to meet students.

 

11.) Get yourself to Antonio’s pizza! slices are only $1 after midnight on Fridays. Memorize this fact (if you have never been stop reading this and go there now)!

 

12.) Eat more ice cream. For maximum ice cream, use a salad bowl at the soft serve machine….More toppings and more ice cream?? How could you go wrong?

 

13.) Explore other campus buildings and find your own, unique study spot. Some of our new science buildings are SERIOUSLY spectacular and are full of study rooms and cool little workspaces! Try the ISB or the ILC to start!

 

14.) Be kind to UMass Workers. Remember that we are a community here at UMASS. Be patient and kind to our workers. Many of them are fellow students!

 

15.) Get to know your professors. Even if you’re only a freshman, you should understand the importance of networking and creating bonds with the adults around you. As they say, never burn a bridge.

 

16.) Check your weather app before you leave in the morning! It may not be raining now, but you don’t want to be that girl getting drenched after your 3pm gets out. In fact if your school bag is big enough, you may want to keep a small umbrella on you at all times.

 

17.) JOIN SOMETHING (How about SAA?)! I know this has been said over and over again, but you must find something on campus, outside of your academics that you feel passionate about doing. Looking for an engaged and welcoming group of students who LOVE UMass?? Join the Student Alumni Association. We are committed to campus and community involvement, connecting students and alumni, and ensuring that everyone feels they are a part of the UMass family before and after graduation. Come to our next meeting! We meet Mondays at 7pm in Memorial Hall.

 

AND THAT’S IT! Good luck this fall, Minutemen. GO UMass!

Co written by members Lucy Armstrong and Hallie Menchin

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!