Why do we need an Alumni House?
Here's what is mentioned in Microsoft's Encarta definition of a house:
n [howss] (plural hous•es [hówz?z])
1. dwelling: a building made for people to live
in, especially one built for a single group
of occupants
2. community dwelling: a building in which a
community of people lives
This sounds wonderful, but for us, we think that our Alumni House is:
- Home
- A place for alumni to meet
- Where volunteers spend time to contact alumni, update web site, send SMS's, call up alumni, and answer phone calls regarding alumni inquiries
- A place for the Executive Committee to meet every other week
- Where alumni meet visiting fellow alumni and give them a tour of SJS
- A place to sip a hot drink on a cold winter night and come up with great ideas for the Alumni Association
- Where alumni and friends quench their thirst with a tall ice-filled glass of lemonade after a good summer basketball game
- A green loan where the Alumni Spring barbeques are held
- Where things are put in order
- Where seniors at SJS visit to inquire about their Alumni Association and contribute to projects
- A place on SJS campus to closely help students, faculty and administration, when needed
After over a decade of perseverant work to establish the Association, I think that having an Alumni House is critical to further expanding the Alumni body. I am convinced that new ideas will emerge from being there: Being on Campus. I believe in “Build it; and great things will happen.”
What do you think?
Dr. Tony Feghali
President
feghali@aub.edu.lb