Young Alumni program celebrates successful first year

<p>The Arizona State Young Alumni (ASYA) program, an ASU Alumni Association group aimed at Sun Devil graduates under age 35, recently celebrated a successful first year. ASYA was developed to augment the Alumni Association’s outreach efforts, according to executive director of operations Jenny Holsman. She explained that the program allowed the association to enhance its emphasis on the rapidly growing demographic segment, which now comprises 31 percent of the university’s alumni base.</p><separator></separator><p>“We had been building our relationship with current ASU students through the Student Alumni Association and the Senior Year Experience, but we needed a program to keep recent graduates connected to the university through social, educational and traditions-based events and programs,” Holsman said.</p><separator></separator><p>The program is led by the Young Alumni Council, comprised of 29 recent graduates.&nbsp; With backgrounds that included finance, law, marketing, public administration and interdisciplinary studies, council members recruited participants, identified social and community activities for the group, and made connections with other ASU organizations.</p><separator></separator><p>A diverse activities calendar was at the heart of the ASYA program this year, including:<br />•&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A kick-off event at the new W Hotel in Tempe;<br />•&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dinner with a Dozen Devils, a monthly culinary get-together at the Valley’s top restaurants;<br />•&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A meet-and-greet event at the ASU Gammage show “Legally Blonde”; <br />•&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And a holiday community service project with the Salvation Army.</p><separator></separator><p>Toward the end of its first year, the Young Alumni Council elected its first slate of officers for 2010-11: Matt Gervin ’01 B.S. as president, Meghan Dorn ’02 B.I.S. as vice-president, and Jayson Matthews ’03 M.P.A. as treasurer.</p><separator></separator><p>“We've been impressed by the initiative our volunteer leadership team has shown,” Holsman said. “We are thrilled to have such expertise on the council to provide leadership and guidance for this new program that has grown so much in its first year. We are all looking forward to many great things to come from this very important group.”</p><separator></separator><p>For more information on the ASYA program, visit <a href="http://alumni.asu.edu/programs/asu-young-alumni&quot; target="_blank">http://alumni.asu.edu/programs/asu-young-alumni</a&gt;. To hear a podcast with interviews from Gervin, Holsman and other ASYA participants, visit <a href="http://alumni.asu.edu/gallery/podcast&quot; target="_blank">http://alumni.asu.edu/gallery/podcast</a>.</p&gt;