Alumni Events Go Virtual

“We wanted to be a resource for our alumni during an uncertain time, so we pivoted from events that were 100% in-person to events that were 100% virtual,” notes Jennifer (Moura) Silva ’93, associate director of alumni engagement.

From mid-April through September, the office hosted 24 virtual events, ranging from children’s story hours and cooking demonstrations to exercise classes and career advice—all of which were led by alumni speakers from across class years as well as Stonehill faculty and staff. Most notably, alumni from 28 states, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, Turkey, Spain and Finland participated in the virtual programs.

“Through Zoom, we’ve been able to connect in a meaningful way with alumni who often can’t make it back to campus for in-person events,” says Silva. “Of course, we very much look forward to hosting alumni on campus once it is safe to do so, but we will continue to offer virtual events for those who live far away or those who enjoy logging on to a program.”

Joseph Knipper ’75, who lives in New Jersey, has attended several of the virtual events. “The Character Matters program with Mark Leinweaver ’97 was particularly relevant to my job as a teacher in a high school that has a prominent basketball program.

I texted with Mark after the event to explore doing a similar program at our school. Without this type of programming, I would have never made this connection,” says Knipper. “I deeply appreciate these virtual events that have given alumni a way to stay connected to the College and to each other.”

If you’d like to learn more about our virtual programming, visit stonehillalumni.org or email alumni@stonehill.edu to receive a weekly virtual alumni engagement newsletter.