Asa Daniels, senior staff writer
The Berry College Alumni Center is set to fully release a new app for Berry’s graduating seniors on March 3. The new app, called Berry Alumni Connect, aims to help create and maintain connections between current students and upcoming alumni outside of Berry. Seniors who participated in the Young Alumni Partner Program (YAPP) this past Saturday received the chance to use the app sooner, according to Courtney Pittman, content producer for alumni engagement team.
After this semester, seniors will be able to join during their second semester. They can look for their information in an email they will receive once they are eligible for the app.
Alumni are currently able to use the app and over 600 alumni have been active so far in February, according to alumnus Chad Nash (13c), who is now a social impact specialist for the UPS foundation.
Pittman explained that the app is designed to allow people to connect with each other personally, create their own groups and filter for people based on majors, geographic location and graduation years.
Pittman further explained that it will be a useful tool for graduating seniors when navigating the world outside of Berry.
“It’s a great way to stay connected with each other for both personal and professional use,” Pittman said. “When you think about it from the graduating senior’s perspective, what comes after college can be a little scary, so just having multiple resources at [their] fingertips to help guide [them] and direct [them] along the way.This gives them something beyond graduation, this gives them something they can easily access when needed.”
Pittman also explained that it provides a tool for students to network with people who are currently in job fields that they may be interested in pursuing.
“Looking at it from that networking perspective, it’s really more so finding folks that work in a career field that you’re interested in, or a specific geographic region and networking that way, as opposed to looking at it from a perspective of job listings – it’s not necessarily job listings, but there are certainly job opportunities that could arise from the networks that you make within,” Pittman said.
Dean of Personal and Professional Development Marc Hunsaker said that his office has been working hard with the Alumni Center over the last few years to provide support for students after they graduate, something he explained is not common for some schools.
“For many schools, the relationship with their students in terms of supporting their career development kind of ends at graduation,” Hunsaker said. “And I think what the conversations we’ve had with the Alumni Office is, ‘How do we make that transition more seamless and how, do we continue to give a sense of community and offer supports to alumni once they leave and how do we continue to strengthen the connection to our alumni base and our current student population?’”
Hunsaker said that the relationship between current students at Berry and alumni is important, especially for job opportunities.
“80% of jobs are never publicly listed, that’s why it’s called the hidden job market,” Hunsaker said. “And the way that you get that access to those opportunities and the way that people ultimately get hired into all opportunities is through networking and Berry’s alumni community is probably one of the strongest, if not the strongest, networking opportunity that Berry students have.”
He added that Berry alumni are often very happy to help current students and that this app will be a great way for current students to utilize alumni as a resource.
“Berry alum know the value of a Berry College experience and they value Berry College students,” Hunsaker said. “And so, they very often want to help those Berry College students become successful and if the student is talented, they want to bring that student into their organization and if the student wants to pursue a career that’s kind of like theirs, then alumni are often very, very willing to give back. To have a place where those connections are managed, a hub where you would go to, to say ‘this is where I go when I want to find out who is in ‘x’ field or who might be able to help me achieve whatever my goal is’, this seems like an obvious place for that.”
Nash explained that there are small banners that say “willing to help” on the profiles of alumni who are open to assisting others, and he said it helps highlight how engaged alumni wish to be.
“I think we all know that Berry is a special place, but seeing all the alumni who are raising their hands to help students and one another really helps to quantify that,” Nash said. “You almost have to search to find someone who doesn’t have that banner.”
Pittman shared the belief in the importance of alumni for not only current students, but also for Berry in general, in providing their unique experience.
“When you think about the trajectory of a college and where a school is going, alumni kind of help keep that grounded,” Pittman said. “Alumni have this perspective, they’ve been there, they’ve done that, they know what the school is like, they know what students are going through – they really keep things alive; they keep it going.”
Beyond just helping graduating students by providing support and information, Pittman added that this app will allow older alumni to connect and stay connected with each other, no matter where they are.
“There’s also the other side of things where you’ve got alumni that are just making life changes, they’re transitioning in their career, maybe they lost touch with their classmates,” Pittman said. “This is a place where everybody can come together, one central hub, and they can maintain connection year-round.”
Nash himself has been using the app to stay connected with his former classmates.
“I graduated nearly 9 years ago, and despite social media, I’ve lost touch with a lot of people,” Nash said. “It’s particularly hard when everyone starts getting married and last names change. It’s been great to scroll through the list of alumni and see my old friends and classmates.”
Even though she only joined Berry in the last year, Pittman said that she believes the relationship Berry alumni have with the college is unique compared to other schools.
“Just to see the support and [engagement] and the interaction amongst alumni with students, amongst [fellow] alumni, just to stay involved because their love for Berry is so strong, it’s a really cool and powerful thing to see,” Pittman said. “I do feel like Berry alum are so much more proud of their school, to call this place home and where they graduated, than a lot of other schools.”
Nash hopes that use of the app will continue to grow so that alumni of all years can interact and engage with each other, even if off of Berry’s campus.
“If you see someone who is doing something you think is interesting, reach out and talk to them,” Nash said. “We want to get as many Vikings engaged as possible. As the community grows, it will become more and more helpful to our alumni and the seniors who graduate year after year.”