Tusculum College and the education it provides have opened doors leading to success for many alumni. You may be one of those who are seeking a way to show your gratitude to your Alma Mater.
There are many ways to give back to Tusculum College that can positively affect the lives of current students as well as your own.
A new way for alumni to give back is through the “Dinner with 8 Pioneers” program. In Tusculum’s version of a program that has proven successful at many colleges, alumni and friends of the College host a dinner or similar event for members of the Student Alumni Association. The event is a way for students to interact with alumni, learn about the workplace, practice networking skills and swap stories about life at Tusculum then and now. For alumni and friends of the College, it is a way to have a positive impact on the lives of current students and give back to their Alma Mater in a unique way.
Alumni can also return to class as a guest lecturer in their area of expertise. Students can gain a valuable insight into the career field from an alumnus that cannot be found in a textbook. Particularly for upperclassmen, the idea of soon entering the workplace is a daunting and intimidating one. Meeting alumni who have successfully made the journey from college to career can be a great encouragement to students.
Another way to give back is to participate in alumni events or activities. Alumni events, whether they are on campus in East Tennessee or across the nation, are an important way for the College to keep in contact with alumni and strengthen their connectivity. Through these events, College staff can learn what issues are important to alumni and what concerns they have, which helps Tusculum better serve its alumni. Alumni can also host evets in their homes, a local restaurant or other venue. College staff also takes Tusculum to them in these events, updating alumni on recent happenings.
Alumni are also among the best ambassadors Tusculum College has. Alumni can share with their neighbors, church youth and others about Tusculum and how it has benefited their lives. Alumni can also serve as the College’s ambassadors at College Fairs. Tusculum’s Admission staff cannot attend all the College Fairs that they wish, but alumni have helped the College by participating in College Fairs in locations of the recruiting radius. The Admission Office supplies the materials needed for the College Fair to prepare the alumnus for spending a day or an evening telling prospective students about Tusculum. Alumni can also share names of those who would be good prospects as students. A form that alumni can submit to the College has been added to the Alumni E-newsletter. Check out the link on the left side of this page.
Monetary gifts have a significant importance, as Tusculum College cannot meet its all its financial and academic goals or carry out our mission without alumni participation. There are many ways to give – to specific academic scholarships, to academic programs or athletics or to support the College’s overall operations, to name a few. Whatever a person’s interest in supporting, there is most likely an avenue to give to that interest, and if not, one can be created. Gifts can be made online.
Alumni can even encourage monetary gifts to the College. How? One way is through memorial contributions. For example, Bertha Cathrall ’42 passed away last week and her husband, Jack Cathrall ’41, remembered their Alma Mater by asking that in lieu of flowers, people send memorial contributions to the Dixon Cathrall Memorial Scholarship Fund at the College, which the couple had established in memory of their son, a 1977 graduate of Tusculum.