As we work with student leaders, we know that most of them do not plan on going into student affairs, or even Housing and Residence Life for the long term – essentially, we’re hoping they translate the skills and lessons they learn in our time with them to future positions and professional opportunities. However, many students often cite learning an immense amount during their time in HRL and wish they could somehow stay connected to the experience, even if they aren’t going into a career or profession that is aligned with student affairs. This connection is something I haven’t seen HRL departments capitalize on, and in a time when resources and bandwidth are becoming increasingly lean, the magic of HRL may come to depend on its alumni base.
About five years ago, a group of former Resident Assistants from the 1980s contacted my current department wanting to set up a fund that would be used explicitly to support mental health, wellness, and care for current HRL student leaders. What started as a small fund made possible by the incredible generosity of a few key individuals, has turned into a fully endowed fund to be used for mental health initiatives, formation, development, and care for our current HRL student leaders. And while no institution can magically generate a group of alumni who are willing to give money for such a specific cause, there are some things that can be done to bridge the gap between the student employee experience and life beyond graduation. If you have ever wanted to think differently about how to engage your HRL alumni base, read below. To learn more about our HRL mental health and wellness fund, visit here, or read more about it in ACUHO-i’s Talking Stick: Just In section.
Partner with your Alumni Relations Department or Office:
- If you’re looking for a way to engage former HRL student leaders, reach out to your alumni relations department and see if they have a current listserv of former HRL student leaders. If they do, think about including HRL alumni on any public-facing specific HRL outreach (i.e., holiday cards, high-level university, or departmental newsletters/updates), or consider cultivating and sending an alumni-specific newsletter a couple of times a year.
- If your Alumni Relations office doesn’t already collect this data, consider starting a database that collects the basic contact information for HRL student leaders ahead of graduation so that you can begin building the foundation of your HRL alumni base
- Collaborate with your Alumni Relations office to host an HRL specific event for current seniors in your Housing and Residence Life department a few weeks ahead of their graduation, separate from an HRL banquet. Hosting some kind of simple celebratory event – like an HRL alumni reception or breakfast – can not only help seniors kick off their graduation celebrations and commemorate an impactful student leadership experience, but it can also help them personally connect to the alumni office and hopefully stay more engaged beyond graduation. Have the event center around community building, celebration, with a small plug from alumni relations at the end of the event. Starting traditions that student leaders come to look forward to as a department is the key to building a successful alumni base.
Collaborate with your Advancement of University Development Office:
- One of the many things that our student leader fund has afforded us the opportunity as university budgets have become more limited is to use donor funds to pour back into student leaders, reserving our departmental budget for current resident programming and initiatives. Many universities have incredibly generous alumni who already give to the university during the annual Giving Tuesday during the holidays, or during annual campaigns. If your department is interested in starting a fund specifically for a group of student leaders, consider reaching out to your development office to see if they might be able to create marketing around donating to a specific cause or leadership program – even when people cannot donate a ton of money, they are more likely to donate to causes that they themselves were involved in, or that they are familiar with. And don’t underestimate the power of a five- or ten-dollar donation – those donations are approachable and can go a long way when it comes to doing something special for current student staff to make them feel appreciated.
Think About How to Keep Your HRL Alumni Engaged:
- While every department is different, if you have an HRL alumni base where most graduates stay local after graduation, consider if it might be worthwhile to keep them actively involved with the department after graduation. While new grads cannot always financially contribute to giving campaigns, you may have student leaders who are willing to assist with student staff training in some capacity, either at the beginning of the year, or throughout the year, as needed.
- If you department hosts departmental events that would be appropriate to invite HRL alumni to join, consider expanding your guest list.
Cultivating a post-script experience for HRL student leaders may not be for every department, but the potential gifts of such an experience could cultivate memorable ripples and bylines for a department.
