Making an Impact: Mass Impact 2017

Posted on September 28, 2017 by SAA

Early this past Saturday morning our SAA members paired up with UMass Alumni to participate in Mass Impact Day. Mass Impact day is an annual day of service where many UMass Registered Student Organizations (RSO’s) come together in order to help the surrounding community. This is our fourth consecutive year participating in this event and we have found that our members and alumni really enjoy working together to help this wonderful cause.

This year we helped clean up the Connecticut River. Our members picked up trash along the riverbed and in the river itself. Erin Lemay, the social media coordinator of SAA attended and found it to be a really fulfilling experience:

We found various items of trash in the river itself and we were able to fill up at least five truckloads of trash to be properly disposed of. Even in the short amount of time we spent there it was easy to see how our work made a huge difference.

Both the students and Alumni concluded that they were happy that they went. We have found that our members really enjoy doing community service together.

In the last year we created a philanthropy committee to provide our members with ample opportunities to do community service. We are proud to announce that they have a lot of fun events coming up such as I Love UMass Day and volunteer opportunities at Craig’s Doors, to name a few. Kasey McKenzie, the chairman of community service in the philanthropy committee is eager to get members involved in all that they do. She says,

Philanthropy is important because not only does it show appreciation for others, but also improves the situation of others through donations or charitable service.

We are really excited to get more involved in more community service outreach and see what else Philanthropy has in store for us this year!

Written By:

Hallie Menchin

Publications Coordinator

Student Alumni Association

SAA brings you a compiled list of back to school tips!

Posted on September 23, 2016 by SAA

Now that school has been in session for a few weeks, we thought we would get together and ask each of our members, Freshman-Seniors, about some basic pointers to help everyone out on campus this fall.

1.) Take advantage of our #1 voted dining halls in the nation. Every UMass student proudly stands behind this. Our food is amazing. If you have back to back classes also try Worcester Grab-and-go! It is extremely underrated and trust me you will definitely want to stock up.

2.) PSA! Find your table before you get your food. Leave your backpack or UCard by your table. I promise no one will steal it! Nothing says freshman quite like walking around with your backpack and a plate of food (you’re welcome, no one wants to be that kid).

3.) Go watch the sunset by the Honors College and the intramural fields (Everyone does it). Trust us, this is the best spot for sunset pictures with the picturesque mountain background.

4.) Participate in events on campus (including the multicolor mile in just a few weeks)!

5.) Download the bus app onto your phone…DO THIS ASAP if you haven’t already. You will want to have this down to a science when the November chills hit or if you’re ever running late to class. In the meantime however, enjoy the beautiful, nice weather and walk to class!

6.) Attend a sporting event!

7.) Try waking up at the same time everyday and sticking to a similar weekly routine (I know this one gets hard sometimes with our hectic college lifestyles, but having a routine will make you feel more on-task, put together, and less stressed).

8.) SLEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!! Even one all nighter per semester can throw you off tremendously. Try your best to avoid these!

9.) Get to the Rec center early in the day (avoid the crowds and save that late afternoon time for some Netflix or even for a quick power nap).

10.) Go say Hi to Chancellor Subbaswamy! If you see him walking around campus give him a wave! He is extremely approachable, and loves to meet students.

11.) Get yourself to Antonio’s pizza! slices are only $1 after midnight on Fridays. Memorize this fact (if you have never been stop reading this and go there now)!

12.) Eat more ice cream. For maximum ice cream, use a salad bowl at the soft serve machine….More toppings and more ice cream?? How could you go wrong?

13.) Explore other campus buildings and find your own, unique study spot. Some of our new science buildings are SERIOUSLY spectacular and are full of study rooms and cool little workspaces! Try the ISB or the ILC to start!

14.) Be kind to UMass Workers. Remember that we are a community here at UMASS. Be patient and kind to our workers. Many of them are fellow students!

15.) Get to know your professors. Even if you’re only a freshman, you should understand the importance of networking and creating bonds with the adults around you. As they say, never burn a bridge.

16.) Check your weather app before you leave in the morning! It may not be raining now, but you don’t want to be that girl getting drenched after your 3pm gets out. In fact if your school bag is big enough, you may want to keep a small umbrella on you at all times.

17.) JOIN SOMETHING (How about SAA?)! I know this has been said over and over again, but you must find something on campus, outside of your academics that you feel passionate about doing. Looking for an engaged and welcoming group of students who LOVE UMass?? Join the Student Alumni Association. We are committed to campus and community involvement, connecting students and alumni, and ensuring that everyone feels they are a part of the UMass family before and after graduation. Come to our next meeting! We meet Mondays at 7pm in Memorial Hall.

AND THAT’S IT! Good luck this fall, Minutemen. GO UMass!

Co written by members Lucy Armstrong and Hallie Menchin

Come One, Come All: Commencement Ball 2016

Posted on March 31, 2016 by klavery

With less than one month until the 18th Annual Commencement Ball, the Student Alumni Association has kicked preparation into high gear. Comm Ball celebrates the senior class, marking the end of their four years as UMass students and the beginning of their time as proud UMass Amherst alumni.

This year’s theme- A Night Under the Big Top – will feature circus inspired games, decor, and photo booths! The night will be completed with props that our members have already started to create. Last week, we got in the Comm Ball spirit with the help of Doc the clown, (aka Lindsay’s dad!), who showed off his balloon animal skills at our general body meeting.

It might seem like all fun and games, but there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes…

The event has become so popular, it’s hosted in the Mullins Center, as opposed to the the Student Union as some alum may remember it! To give you an idea of how much this event has grown, check out last year’s numbers:

2,500 people attended
70 volunteer staff people
Tickets SOLD OUT by April 25th
hundreds of hours of prep time

SAA is pumped about this event and looks forward to making it a memorable night for members of the class of 2016. Stay tuned for more updates!

#iLoveUMassAmherst Day was a success, thank you!

Posted on March 7, 2016 by mgmcgrath

We are all so grateful for what UMass Amherst offers us. The range of lives positively affected by the university is so substantial and the donations from alumni makes it all possible!

Yilong Chen, here from Brighton UK, absolutely loves UMass!

Edina and Shwetha of Dhadak dance crew wanted to thank alumni for indirectly providing the practice space which lets them do what they love!

Eli Barrows loves UMass for giving him the greatest experiences of his life and providing him with the best friends he could ask for.

UMass Ski&Board loves every opportunity they have because of this university and the opportunity to be a part of a club that has brought them to amazing places with amazing people.

The chefs of Blue Wall are happy to help feed the young minds pursuing their futures. Thank you for keeping us well fed and coming back for more!

#iLoveUMassAmherst Day is Coming Up!

Posted on February 2, 2016 by mgmcgrath

University of Massachusetts is a public university that owes so very much to its alumni! Take the opportunity Wednesday, February 17 to write a personalized postcard to thank an alum for everything they have contributed to the school you love! UMass Rising cited that “38,431 alumni gave nearly $32 million to UMass Amherst students, programs, research, and more.”

Besides getting to say thank you, here are the things SAA will be in the Campus Center with:

Giveaways including coupons, pens, & t-shirts
Interaction with Sam the Minuteman
Memories made in the UMass photo booth

The social media blitz will be led by the hashtag #iLoveUMassAmherst and the lowercase ‘i’ is a necessity, pretty please do your best to keep that in mind.

The most innovative or creative use of the hashtag #iLoveUMassAmherst will win an SAA prize pack. (Winner will be voted upon and determined by general body of the Student Alumni Association)

Running Bare Because We Care: Nearly Naked Mile Recap

Posted on October 23, 2015 by klavery

This past Friday, Homecoming weekend kicked off with the annual Nearly Naked Mile! Alumni, current students, and members of various RSO’s came together to run, for fun, to combat homelessness. In total, there were around 300 participants and about 5 large boxes of clothing collected for the Amherst Survival Center.

Runners getting into the spirit with body paint supplied by UMass SAA and UMass Beautiful (photo by Su Ann Koh)

The event was certainly a success due to the long hours of planning and organizing by the Student Alumni Association. This year, SAA expanded its network to invite more RSOs to take part in such a rewarding event. UMASS Beautiful, the Annual Fund, and WMUA are only a few of the RSOs that were invited to the Nearly Naked Mile. According to Dianna Bronchuk, coordinator of the NNM, “We pushed the NNM to be more than just a student event of fun and high spirits but really to give back to the community . . . With about 300 participants, anything is possible on campus.”

However, there is so much more that goes into the Nearly Naked Mile aside from the participants themselves! Rose Arslanian, Fall Traditions Chair, says, “Usually, most people tend to underestimate every technicality involved in planning an event like this on such a large scale: before I was so heavily involved as Fall Traditions Chair, I definitely overlooked all the details such as physically setting up the course with barricades and cones that were delivered, or actually staking lawn signs all over campus. Communication is also key to running such a successful event- with all hands on deck, there is no limit to what we can achieve!”

SAA members spent the weeks before the NNM tabling, creating lawn signs, and reaching out to students to get involved in the event, but they also were a necessary force at the NNM. They outlined the course for runners and helped to set up and take down the event on Friday. Students got the word out about homelessness, donated to the Amherst Survival Center, and had fun while doing it. Overall, the 2015 Nearly Naked Mile was an absolute success!

Getting ready to run (photo by Su Ann Koh)

If you are interested in further helping out the ASC, please visit their website at http://amherstsurvival.org/donate/

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Photo by Amy Lightbody

-Ruthie Sterling, Guest Blogger

Open House & What’s In Store for Fall 2015

Posted on September 21, 2015 by klavery

The SAA welcomed a room full of new faces and returning members to the fall open house last Monday night, thanks to hours of recruitment efforts around campus. As always, there was a lot to talk about. Guests heard from our e-board, then sipped on mocktails as they rotated between stations to learn about our organization.

First on the docket is the Mass Impact Day of Service on September 26th, during which current members and alumni will participate in a cleanup of Look Park in Northampton. Our fall retreat is another highly anticipated event coming up on October 2nd, which provides the perfect opportunity for member bonding combined with festive fall activities and food.

Of course, we can’t forget to mention UMass Homecoming Weekend, kicking off on October 16th this year with the nearly Naked Mile fun-run! This yearly tradition brings the campus community together for a good cause, with runners bringing clothing donations for the Amherst Survival Center. October 17th (game day!) begins with the homecoming parade. SAA members had so much fun decorating their float and riding in the parade last year that we have already started planning this year’s design.

We return to Memorial Hall tonight at 7pm for our first general body meeting and are looking forward to seeing what each member can bring to the group. Stay tuned throughout the semester for more updates on SAA happenings!

-Katie Lavery, SAA VP of PR and Communications

UMass Alumni Welcome SAA to D.C.

Posted on August 18, 2015 by lkazin

Guest blogger Lauren Richardson ’17 writes:

While SAA was visiting Washington D.C. last weekend for the CASE ASAP National Convention, we were lucky enough to meet up with area alumni for dinner at Clyde’s, a buzzing pub located in Chinatown. Our alumni group, including Klyde Siegfriedt ’80, David Garriepy ’04, Philip Bakerman ’07, and Susan McCarthy ’05 were kind enough to share their Friday evening with us, but also their suggestions for making the most of our UMass connection both now and when we graduate.

Time flew by at our table, as we discussed our UMass experiences, our favorite Amherst restaurants, “Deflategate,” and our plans for the future. Our alumni shared their career paths from graduation to present, and they advised us how to tackle the real world after UMass. They encouraged us to frequently ask questions of ourselves and others to ensure that we are on the right track to achieving our goals. As we plan our future classes, internships, and ultimately the career we will each seek after graduation, this advice will remain helpful and relevant.

Leading by example, they suggested taking advantage of the UMass Alumni Networks. These Networks span the entire country, providing opportunities for professional development, as well as provide an avenue for athletic, social, volunteer, and family engagement. The D.C. chapter even plays intramural sports on the National Mall lawn together! It was comforting to know that no matter where we move in the country, the nearby Alumni chapter can help us get settled in a new city and make connections both personally and professionally.

I found our dinner to be a very rewarding experience. The alumni were amazing people (even though David was a Buffalo Bills fan and I am a staunch Patriots supporter). We bonded over our love for UMass and made plans to meet up at the Homecoming football game this fall. I’m grateful for this opportunity because the connections we formed at dinner were personal, not just professional. The alumni made achieving success in the real world seem a little less daunting, and a lot more possible. Go UMass!

Prepare for Monumental Success: CASE ASAP DC!

Posted on August 14, 2015 by lkazin

Guest blogger Ali Lampson ’17 writes:

This past week I had the privilege of joining my fellow Minutemen (Minutewomen) in the wonderful Washington, DC for the CASE ASAP national conference. CASE ASAP is a very large international organization. The goal of this organization is to enhance student participation in advancement at our schools. There were over 800 people at the convention and six of us from UMass SAA were able to attend.

We had the opportunity to spend our first day in DC exploring the city and walked over 10 miles! While sleep was lacking, we were excited to learn about the other organizations from across the country. This conference not only helped us share our own events, but taught us about the many new events and marketing best practices we could introduce on our own campus! We learned a great deal of information and got a lot of new ideas about homecoming, recruitment, budgeting, fundraising, and so much more!

Out of all the schools in attendance, we were able to spend some extra time with Smith College, Rice University, Penn State, URI and others too. CASE ASAP was an awesome experience for UMass Amherst. As leaders of our campus, it is our job to make sure that students have a positive undergraduate experience so they become active alumni. Once graduated, we are responsible for building a bridge between those alumni and current student body. It was great to have the opportunity to talk with other organizations that share the same values and goals as we do.

Attending CASE ASAP reminded us that what we do is important for the campus community and our university as a whole. Not only did this past week at the conference get me excited for the upcoming year, but it brought our group closer! This was a great bonding experience and I know we are all very excited to bring back our new ideas and tools to our campus and start planning for the upcoming school year! Look out UMass – SAA is ready for fall!

CASE ASAP

Posted on March 10, 2015 by alevine

Two weekends ago, six of us SAA members attended the 2015 District 1 CASE ASAP conference at Fairfield University in Connecticut. We represented UMass Amherst and the SAA here, and were one of eighteen schools present from across the Northeast. It was an eventful two days packed with school spirit, SAA pride, and inspirational ideas – not to mention great food and fun!

The gist of the conference is to get Student Alumni Associations or their counterparts from across the region talking – networking, sharing their successes, and exchanging their tips and tricks about how to build a successful organization. Between the six of us attending on behalf of UMass, we attended about 25 different seminars and presentations about recruitment, engagement, and traditions at other universities. Specific topics ranged from comprehensive social media training to creative recruiting of new members, and everything in between. Our very own Sara Hickey and Maddy Monahan hit the ball out of the park with their presentation on Commencement Ball. All of us took away valuable skills that we are excited to share with the home group, and we hope to see the inclusion of some new ideas in the coming semesters!

Other highlights included a thought-provoking keynote address by Karen Donoghue, Fairfield U.’s Dean of Students; a healthy dose of spirit- and mascot-based competition between the schools in attendance; and a jaw-dropping three-course lunch that closed out the weekend. Fairfield University’s SAA and Stags Give Back groups did an impressive job hosting all of us on their beautiful campus.

The last event before headed back to Amherst was the annual District 1 Awards Ceremony. The UMass SAA received two awards: first, for Outstanding Internal Program, we were recognized for our stellar Fall Retreats. Then, for Outstanding External Program, we were highlighted for our exceptional Commencement Ball tradition.

The CASE ASAP conference was truly a spectacular experience. Not only did we gain fantastic skills and insights into the best ways to present ourselves and our organization, but we also had a great time doing it! We shared of our successes, got great ideas in return, all while making valuable connections. We are eager to impart what we have learned – and to attend the national conference this summer!

Dan Riecker

Check out some pictures from the conference

Dan with his SWAG bag

We might not be in the next Olympics but we had fun ice skating.

We won, check out our awards!!!!

Student Alumni Association Today

Category Archives: UMass Amherst