It is with great pleasure that I write to you, the alumni, family, and friends of Claremont McKenna College, for the first time as CMCAA president. I would also like to thank Sue Matteson King ’85 P’18 for her leadership and service to the College and the CMCAA as president last year.
Fall is nearly over and with Thanksgiving in mind I recently thought of the things I’m thankful for and so many of those relate back to CMC.
Every time I exit Indian Hill from the 10 Freeway to return to campus, I am filled with gratitude and thankfulness for having the opportunity to attend CMC. It has given me the incredible lifelong friendships I made with my fellow students and professors, honed my leadership and critical thinking skills, inspired a love of travel after leaving the country for the first time to study abroad in Salamanca, Spain, and played such a foundational role in who I am today. These are some of the many reasons why I volunteer my time for CMC, to give back to a place that has given so much to me.
This year the three key goals of the CMCAA are to engage alumni, build a strong bench of CMC volunteers, and measure our successes in order to share the story of the great work of our alumni volunteers. We want to be able to help alumni connect back to their CMC home and with each other. Nothing makes me happier than seeing alumni who have graduated 25 years apart bond over stories of dorm shenanigans, favorite professors, or that time we beat Pomona-Pitzer in front of a standing-room-only crowd. This also helps us ensure that generations of students to come have an opportunity to experience all of the things that make CMC so special.
In October, we celebrated, thanked, and connected our alumni volunteers by hosting them on campus for the 3rd annual ImpactCMC Weekend! These volunteers included admission volunteers, chapter leaders, class liaisons, class ambassadors, Institute Board Members, Board of Trustees, Forum for the Future and the CMCAA Board, to just name a few. It was an inspiring weekend to reconnect and connect with alumni near and far, and we also cut the ribbon on the stunning new Roberts Pavilion and held open houses for the new Student Opportunity Center and the CARE Center. If you’re interested in learning more about volunteering with CMC, please feel free to contact me directly, and I’m happy to help brainstorm an opportunity that meets your desired time and commitment level.
What has your experience at CMC made you thankful for?