If you are considering withdrawing from your alumni association, you might want to think again. Staying connected comes with many benefits that are not only helpful but essential. You don’t just get discounts on school merchandise. Alumni association membership benefits include various discounts, as well as vital opportunities, and resources. Here are the best reasons to stay connected to your alumni association.
Your Alumni Association Provides Networking and Career Opportunities
Networking and career opportunities are some of the best benefits of staying connected to your college’s alumni alliances. Accordingly, universities want to ensure their graduated students have the best chance at success in the real world. They do this by providing a wide array of events and services to participate in.
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Alumni Events
Alumni often get to participate in special social events. Sometimes it’s alumni lectures or pep rallies on game day. Other times the alumni create their clubs and host events throughout the year for groups. It helps the graduating class stay connected and network with other alumni. The biggest events for alumni are reunions. If you want to help plan a reunion for your class, you can join the alumni association and volunteer.
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Networking Opportunities
Networking opportunities connect graduates with professionals already established in their field of choice. This can help them pursue or change careers. These opportunities can be online career fairs, virtual networking events, or LinkedIn groups. Some alumni associations are too large to stay in contact with everyone. Often they host different groups organized by interest, careers, and location.
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Career Services
Generally, career services are a huge part of alumni alliances. They offer career support for graduates, helping them choose or transition into a new field and explore opportunities. Some universities provide career coaching and professional development events. Others offer self-assessment tests, regional career programs, and scholarships covering costs while job searching. Some of the services even help graduates return to pursue higher education.
Alumni Alliances Offer Benefits On and Off Campus
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Alumni Discounts
You went through all that work to make it through college, so why not get some fun out of it? Alumni discounts are a fantastic kickback to members of alumni associations. Members often get a few different types of discounts.
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School Discounts
College alumni often receive a wide variety of discounts on campus. They can get cheaper tickets to sporting events, free or discounted bike rentals, and discounted continued education classes. They also have access to libraries, fitness centers, museums, and faculty clubs. Alumni also often get discounts at the school bookstore, which includes college merchandise.
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Business Discounts
Above all, alumni associations are there to benefit their members. One way they do that is through business partnerships that offer discounts to alumni. Some universities offer reduced fees for insurance, phone service, and computers, as well. Others also partner with local businesses to offer discounts on clothing, restaurants, and sporting events. Not every college is the same, so take some time to ask about what your alumni association specifically offers.
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Travel Discounts
Depending on what your school has negotiated, members can save on all kinds of travel expenses. You can get cheaper flights and hotels, as well as travel insurance, for local and long-distance travel.
Alumni Associations Allow You to Give Back
Of course, success isn’t just about ensuring you achieve your goals. It’s about reaching a hand behind you and helping the up-and-coming generation step into their role in the world. All in all, alumni associations provide the perfect opportunity to give back to current students and your communities.
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Volunteer Opportunities
Additionally, give back to your communities by volunteering through your association. You can volunteer both in person and virtually, depending on what your school offers. In fact, many of the communities are run by volunteers as well.
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Giving Back to Students
Finally, alumni can give back to current and future students by funding scholarships and participating in the admissions process.
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