By Taylor Stuck
MU Summer 2024
You’ve done it. You’ve completed your degree, shaken President Brad D. Smith’s hand and turned the tassel on your cap. You’ve spent at least four years on campus — making new friends, exploring your passions and solidifying who you are — and now it is time to start your new path. It can be scary to leave the comfort of your Marshall family, even if you are just moving to the other side of town.
Or maybe some years have slid by since you bid farewell to your alma mater and you’re considering ways to reconnect to your Marshall family. The good news is, no matter where you land after graduation or how long it has been since you graduated, your Marshall family is never far away thanks to the Marshall University Alumni Association and the alumni chapters positioned around the globe.
“My first mission when I assumed this position in the fall of 2022 was to rebuild our alumni chapters around the world,” said Matt James, vice president of alumni relations. “It is no surprise that the pandemic was detrimental to many programs but especially difficult for our alumni chapters. We now have 25 alumni and affinity chapters, including one in China, and we are actively working with alumni to develop more chapters.”
So, what are the benefits of joining an alumni chapter?
“There are so many great benefits of joining an alumni chapter,” said Megan Barbour, president of the Greater Annapolis Area Alumni Chapter and two-time graduate of Marshall. “You develop connections that can lead to job opportunities or career growth, mentorship opportunities, volunteering opportunities or lifelong friendships.
“You also find in an alumni chapter a group of amazing individuals who had completely different experiences while at Marshall yet have so much commonality at the same time. After all, Marshall for all, Marshall forever.”
Volunteering
A cornerstone of all alumni chapters is volunteerism. Chapters extend the reach of Marshall’s Community Cares Week beyond Huntington by organizing service projects in their local communities. In 2023, the Raleigh-Durham Chapter provided travel kits to its local USO, and the Greater Annapolis Area Chapter helped get its community pool ready for the season, spreading the name of Marshall through service. This year, the China Alumni Chapter kicked off with a service project in Shanghai.
Chapters also make direct impacts on students by providing scholarships, fundraising through events and other promotions.
“Being a part of the chapter as it reached its goal of raising enough funds to offer a scholarship has been the most rewarding part of being involved in a chapter so far,” Barbour said. “Having relied on scholarships myself to be able to afford to attend school, it feels really good to be a part of a group that is making sure financial support through scholarships is available to future students.”
Tim Cyrus, a past president of the Southern Coalfields Alumni and Big Green Chapter in Beckley and 1983 graduate, said he loves that his group gives back to its community through a scholarship for first-generation college students.
“There is no better way to create relationships than supporting the university that we all hold so dear,” he said. “We owe it to everyone to give the gift of education through Marshall.”
Mentorship
Joining a chapter will also provide you the opportunity to give back to students through a new mentorship program. Mentors will be paired with seniors, providing them with first-hand knowledge and advice for their future careers, along with helping the seniors network and find internships and/or job opportunities. Directed by the Office of Career Education, mentors can be located anywhere in the world.
The chapters also provide mentorship to young alumni who join. The Greater Huntington Chapter participated in commencement for the first time this year, welcoming fresh alumni to their new chapter.
“We have the opportunity of providing mentoring or career advice as they move into one of the most crucial stages of their lives,” said Jill Jackson, president of the chapter.
Connections
No matter how you choose to get involved, alumni chapters connect you to the university and the thousands of people who know just how special Marshall is.
Cyrus and his wife became involved with the Southern Coalfields Alumni and Big Green Chapter eight years ago when another chapter member saw them repping the Herd during football season.
“Two things come to mind (when I think of the most rewarding aspect of being involved), and they are the friendships we have developed and the commitment the group has to Marshall,” he said. “I love our group and the fact everyone feels a strong bond to Marshall.”
Barbour got to work on creating the Greater Annapolis Area Chapter after moving to the area and meeting several alumni.
“When you live several hours away from home, you appreciate having a network of alumni to connect with — whether it be for career growth, volunteering, or even coming together to cheer on the Herd.”
Jackson re-launched the Greater Huntington Chapter after joining the Alumni Association Board of Directors and realizing there was no chapter in Marshall’s own backyard.
“To me, the most rewarding part of having the chapter has to be the excitement and the commitment I am getting from so many Tri-State Marshall fans,” she said.
As a graduate of Marshall, you are already a member of the Alumni Association. To find a chapter near you, visit www.formarshallu.org/get-involved/alumni-chapters. No chapter near you? Interested in leading the charge to change that? Contact us at [email protected].
