Syracuse University reaches out to Chicago-area high schools

As an alumnus of both Syracuse University and Naperville North High School, I was excited to begin my new role as Syracuse's Chicagoland Representative. At a ground level, I was excited to share my experiences at Syracuse University with students who had similar high school settings.

Trading One Love for Another

I went to Syracuse “undecided.” When I was in high school, my father asked what I was going to study in college, and I said I wanted to study business. And he said, “Well, if you're going to study business, you're not going to go to college.

The Best of The Rest

When I was a junior in high school, I took the SATs and I went to my guidance counselor for advice about where to go to college. He recommended a list of schools that I might be interested in.

It Started up on Mount Olympus

Recently I read a really interesting book called Mr g. It's a fictional novel about the concept of God, written by Alan Lightman. After reading it, I had this feeling that I used to have every time I left my favorite class at Syracuse University.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

5:58 AM David Edelstein No comments

Hurricane Sandy forced the cancellation of the big Campaign for Syracuse events.  While the cancellation was clearly the right thing to do - the devastation on the east coast is horrific; our hearts go out to family and friends who were battered by the storm - it is disappointing because celebrating our wonderful accomplishment certainly makes sense plus there were a number of other events planned: a meeting of the Board of Trustees, first-ever meeting of all of the Regional Councils, and many cultural activities.

One item on the agenda was for people to talk about what the Campaign meant to them and how we might build upon the great work done in the Campaign.  I was asked to be a plant in the crowd to get the discussion moving.  This is what I planned on saying:

The Campaign showed us that our alums want to be connected to the University and to each other.  It was almost as if the Campaign was rain on flowers (or orange trees) starving for water.  Once the rain came, the flowers really bloomed.  I heard this over and over again during events in Chicago: we're so happy the University is finally reaching out to us.

Now that the Campaign is over we need to build upon this desire for connection.  The University needs to ensure it is always in contact with alums and is teaching current students the importance of lifelong connection.  Alums can connect as donors, doers, door openers or any combination of those three.

Donors:  Tuition does not cover all of the University's expenses.  The gap is filled by donations from alums and other friends of the University.  People before us donated so that we could earn a great education.  We should donate so that future students can do the same.  And donations can be in any amount that is affordable and meaningful to the donor.

Doers:  Events in the regions and the alumni clubs don't happen by themselves.  Alums volunteer to run events, help out at events, and simply attend events.

Door Openers:  Interviewing prospective students, providing internships to current students, providing jobs to graduates are examples of ways to open doors.

Being a donor or a doer or a door opener or any combination of the three can keep the flower (or orange tree) alive and well and strengthen the bonds between our alma mater and ourselves and ourselves and the broader SU community.
Read more »