Alum Profile

New Board Members

Wildcats on the Move

I am pleased to report about the initiation of some new programs here at the Alumni Association. As part of our ongoing commitment to students, we are forming the Student Alumni Association. Sounds odd, doesn't it, but when I have visited classrooms and talked with students, I have found that students have some needs the Alumni Association can meet. So this service group was formed and is sponsoring some new student support programs.

One of these is the Home away from Home program. We know that the vast majority of students who drop out of college do so because they do not feel connected to the college or the community. Also, for many students, being away from home for the first time and living in a new town can be a little scary. Students can use the support of a family. With the Home away from Home program, we're providing that extra measure of comfort for students and their parents.

The Home away from Home program matches students with local families. After contacting families within the Chico area willing to open their homes and hearts to students, we match them as closely as possible with students interested in the program. Our fall barbecue is a great way for students and families to meet. The kind of relationship the student develops with the family depends on what each student wants or needs. The idea is to have a home locally, so a student knows someone to visit or call-whether it's to ask for space to store a bike during semester break, talk over the break-up of a relationship, get the name of a dentist, or chat with a "mom" or "dad" who lives just a bike ride away.

The Student Alumni Association sponsors other supportive activities, including the peer counseling and alum mentoring programs. Students sometimes have questions they don't want to ask advisers or teachers, questions like "What math professor should I take for calculus?" The peer counseling program teams up students who have been here for a year or two with new students to help answer first-year questions and ease first-year jitters. It's almost like having an older sister or brother-someone to talk with over a slice of pizza and a soda.

We'll be asking you to help us out with our alum mentoring program. In this program we match students with alums working in the students' career interest areas. Students don't always have the chance to learn about the daily work life of a profession while in college. This program will provide that opportunity. Mentoring is a great way for alums to be involved with today's students and for students to get some exposure to possible careers.

I invite you to contact the Alumni Office and share your thoughts with me about these new programs and anything else of concern to you. I want to announce the appointment of a new assistant director here at Alumni and Parent Relations, Sue Anderson. She has an extensive background in event planning, marketing, and volunteer coordination. Anderson started with us in October, and we have been happy to welcome her into the Chico Family. Finally, the Alumni Association's annual meeting will be held Saturday, April 24, 1999, at 9 a.m. in Kendall 207.

Jack Fox, director of Alumni and Parent Relations
530-898-6472 or jfox@csuchico.edu