Audrey Tchaa-
Everyone who has or is attending this university has a different background, but we all share the same UW–Stout community. The Stout Alumni Association creates a sense of togetherness for graduates. The overall goal for the association is to provide alumni and current students “continuous communication” with services, opportunities and information to create a community with events for alumni and opportunities for students to join and gain networking skills they wouldn’t otherwise have. One of the many ways for a student to accomplish this through the Stout Alumni Association is by becoming a Stout Ambassador. Brianna Farwell and Kennedy Navis, both Stout ambassadors, have had wonderful experiences with the Stout Alumni Association.
“The Stout Alumni Association helps engage alumni to connect, network and create opportunities for people,” says Navis. The Alumni Association does this by planning alumni socials, both in and out of state. These events range from fun filled weekends at the Kalahari in the Wisconsin Dells and Eau Claire Express baseball nights, to intimate social hours hosted at alumni owned venues. They are a great way to reconnect alumni to the university and reach out in a different light. This is a great way to have the alumni come together and become involved with the Stout community. The Alumni Association also has a large impact on Stout’s homecoming every year. They host a free community breakfast at the Silver Dollar popularly referred to as Breakfast at the Buck tailgate party complete with a band, prizes, and food before the game, and take part in UW–Stout’s parade.
There are many ways that the Stout Alumni Association is involved with students and campus directly. They hold the Senior Social at The Abbey, a local alumna owned pub, attend grad fairs, and facilitate opportunities for the Stout Ambassadors. “The Stout Ambassador Program replaced the king and queen of royalty at homecoming, and is fairly new; we’re on our second year. The program itself has a great mix of diverse students who all have completely different backgrounds and majors. Stout was really looking for a group of student leaders throughout the school year,” Navis explained.
“As a Stout Ambassador, it’s really exciting to attend events that are not usually open to students, such as having breakfast with the Board of Regents and various alumni events. We have the opportunity to attend employer socials after the career conference and do a lot with Chancellor Bob [Meyer] as well,” added Farwell.
To become a Stout Ambassador, students must apply and go through an interview process. To be eligible, students must have a grade-point average of at least 3.0, be enrolled in at least six class credits and be available for mandatory events. Ambassador applicants must also answer essay questions and provide a resume.
“Being a Stout Ambassador means representing our great university and bringing recognition to all of the wonderful opportunities Stout provides,” Navis said.
“Stout alumni love to give back to their community, and the Stout Alumni Association helps reconnect them back to their school to make an impact. A big part of our purpose is drawing industry professionals back to Stout and pairing them with the right campus individuals to create a maximum impact,” said Farwell. Just like alumni want to help current Stout students, UW–Stout wants to recognize its alumni as well. “We like to give recognition to alumni when they start a business or have a stepping stone in their career. We try to spread this information to students to show what successes are possible for them to achieve as well,” added Farwell.
“The Stout Alumni Association does a lot of “behind-the-scenes” work for our campus. It’s a great way of networking and connecting with alumni. A good tip: once you graduate, don’t forget about Stout because it’s valuable to stay connected,” concluded Farwell. The Stout Alumni Association provides a specialized touch to each student’s individual Stout experience, both personal and professional.