ENGAGING WEEKEND OF REUNION EVENTS FOR RECENT GRADUATES: Classes of 2004, 1999

“It is really good to see you back here," said St. Catherine University President Andrea Lee, I.H.M., to all who who attended the Recent Alumnae Reunion on June 5-6, "and I hope everyone is happy, healthy, and doing something that brings you joy."

Expect the unexpected
Be prepared for vivid and unusual answers to what that "something" is. One woman is a zoologist who swims with the sharks at the Mall of America Aquarium. (Her favorite is an 8 1/2 foot tiger shark named Jessie!) Beside her sits a nutritionist who works with immigrants in the WIC program and is a professional make-up artist on the side. She recently made up celebrities at an international nonprofit fund\raising event and met the Incredible Hulk. Oh, and by the way, she's going on a mission trip to Liberia in October. At the same table was an alum working in mortgage banking who is seeking a chance to help people stay in their homes through a nonprofit organization. Hardly run of the mill professions. Nor could one not forget the "Diving Horse Researcher," the Associate Director of Public and Interpretive Programs at the Walker Art Center, the tech innovations examiner, the Assistant Director of Student Development at the College of St. Benedict, the web writer, or the manager of guest insights at Target.

Of course, many of the alumnae who returned are serving in more familiar positions in education, health care, business and other fields, but if you spend any time talking to them, you find that they are exploring interesting directions within their fields, leading on projects, or developing innovative programs. Some alumnae were in career transitions, finding support, insights, and networking with their Katie colleagues, while others brought their spouses and/or children to introduce them to their classmates.

No matter the place in their lives, all the alumnae and families who attended had much to talk about. The weekend format for events, which was new for the Alumnae Association's recent college graduate reunions, included a Friday night social hour and presentation, a Saturday morning career exploration workshop, brunch, tour of the St. Paul campus’s new features, and a family barbecue.

What's new at the U?
It's not surprising that they also were curious about St. Catherine's change to university and all it entailed.

“What are some of the new graduate programs the university may offer?” asked one alumna of President Lee when when she spoke at the Friday night social hour, offering alums a casual but informative explanation of the new university’s structure, which includes three levels at which to enter the university:
· College for Women (which includes the Weekend College program)
· Graduate College
· College of Applied and Continuing Education (associate degrees and certificates as well as credit and non-credit coursework for professionals).


President Lee assured alums that the College for Women will remain the core of the university -- a characteristic that makes St. Catherine University unique among universities in the nation. Students will center their work in one of the four schools of study:
· School of Humanities, Arts and Sciences
· Henrietta Schmoll School of Health
· School for Business and Leadership, and
· School of Professional Studies (This is the working title for the school which will include Education, Library and Information Sciences, and Social Work.).

In answer to the alumna's question, Lee noted that in addition to the current ten graduate programs (including two doctoral programs), the university is exploring the possibility of a Doctor of Montessori Education and graduate degrees in American Sign Language and business sales as well as perhaps a traditional MBA to complement the MAOL program.

“Will there be graduate degrees in the liberal arts?” asked another alum. Lee explained that future degrees will depend on market demand and faculty interest. “The first degree was in liberal arts – the master’s in theology, 26 years ago.”

For the past several years, St. Catherine has been listed by the Carnegie Classification system as a “Master’s 1” university, and it will remain this. "We are presently ranked 13th of the 568 institutions in the nation in this category, so we're in the top ten percent. We are in good company, with John Carroll, Creighton, and Villanova." The university population is presently at approximately 5,200 students, but it doesn't feel "like you're going to school in a big barn" because it has varied student populations, including students who attend on weekends. "We are a mid-sized Catholic university in a vibrant metropolitan area," said Lee, "and we don't really play this up enough." She added that "we are distinguished by having a women's college at our core."

She explained that the University's Vision 2020 Plan, developed in conjunction with the Board of Trustees, sets the goal for St. Catherine “to be the leading Catholic university distinguished by its innovative spirit and premier baccalaureate college for women.” (For more on the University's mission and vision ...) It sets out numerous strategies to move St. Catherine's up in its ranking and build national and international presence and prestige while keeping the communities within the schools close and nurturing, focusing on innovation and practical application of skills, and honoring the founders' legacy and vision. (For more, see President Lee's address to the Alumnae Association at the Annual Meeting....)

The plan will encourage new relationships and partnerships. For instance, as the School of Health has taken advantage of all the health care clinical locations in the Twin Cities metro areas, it is exploring other regions that have clinical openings but lack the students to fill them, as in Kentucky and Colorado. St. Catherine's University may soon establish clinical satellite locations in these areas through partnerships. This kind of creative and visionary planning are integral to the 2020 Vision.

One alumna piped up, "I'm hoping St. Kate's will develop a graduate degree in my field so I can come back!"


Alumnae Explore Their Professional Futures


The next morning, in a workshop format, Career Columnist and Consultant Amy Lindgren SP '83 presented a healthy and effective way for alums to examine their professional aims and make choices to attain them. "Careers or jobs are just tools to achieve your life goals," advised Lindgren, pointing out that too many people view careers or jobs as the end goals rather than the means to creating the kind of life you want to live.

She asked the participants to think back on their ten-year old selves. "What did you dream of doing when you grew up? At nine or ten, people have a sense of what they like and can imagine themselves doing but they haven't yet become discouraged by some of the obstacles involved. So look back and then imagine the kind of profession you would like to be in, and also the kinds of other things you want as part of your life." We all have personal aspects of our lives that make them full and obligations we want to honor, she explained, whether it is paying for our debts and bills, caring for our children, watching over our aging parents, wanting an early retirement, or traveling. So we can't just drop our present jobs and jump into looking for something new. "Many people have to do what I call the Slow Mo (slow motion) Career Transition or Job Move, where you make a long-term plan to move from where you are now to where you want to be."




To do this, she suggested that attendees use their childhood dreams and aptitudes along with their present life situations and obligations to make a timeline of five-year increments ( 2009-2014, 2014-19, 2019-2024, 2024-2029, 2029-2035, 2035-39, etc.) from the present to the age when they might like to retire. Above the timeline, you could mark their ages and life goals for each period; below obligations to honor at the different stages, such as ages of children, of parents, etc. For instance, she reminded everyone, "if you are in a very physically demanding job, you have to take into consideration that you won't always have the brawn you do now. So you need to consider what transitions you can make to keep using your skills or developing new ones to meet your life goals."

From here she moved into the specifics of career assessment and how to zero in on the actual jobs you can and want to do and in what kinds of settings. "Most career assessment places have listings of about 30 different jobs. The U.S. Department of Labor lists 16,000." So a person needs to focus more on the expertise involved in a job rather than the titles. "Skills are the building blocks of jobs."

"Make a list of all the specific skills you have. Don't forget the obvious ones, such as 'I can drive.' Being able to drive opens up a whole range of jobs, if you want them." That 's the next step -- after you've listed all things you can do, cross off the ones you don't want to do. "Skills are the currency of job searches. History is not your destiny. Employers don't want to know what you've done, they want to know what you can and are willing to do for them."
Once you've a narrowed down list, you can then cross reference these skills with the fields you are interested in to center on different professions you might like." If you are missing some of the necessary skills or background to seek those jobs at the present time, you can make a Slow Mo plan to get the training or experience you need. If you're ready already, create a resume from the skills you've outlined. "Put the skills on top. The jobs you've had should be listed afterward. They are merely proof that you have demonstrated these skills in the past and held positions of responsibility."

Numerous participants confirmed the wisdom of this approach. Sarah Berger, Director of the Annual Fund at St. Catherine's, sees many resumes. "The most memorable one was one where a woman listed her many skills in different categories at the top." An alumna job seeker agreed about this format's success. She had revised her resume in that way. "That was the only resume I received any interest in, and when I got into the job interview, we talked all about the position they had that they wanted me to fill. They didn't talk about my past experience at all."

To create an effective resume, Amy advised the audience to "Throw out all the rules you've heard about resumes and begin with a blank page. Then fill it up with your skills in a format that works for you." You can group skills into thematic lists, such as People Skills, Technical Skills, Business Building Skills, etc. or perhaps Assets, Organizational Skills, and Projects -- whatever fits. "Put your strengths on top. And don't worry about trying to only use one page," Amy added. "Use the pages you need, but don't have a single word that you don't. Every word must work like a sled dog and pull the resume forward." Sarah Berger confirmed this wisdom. "Some of the one-page resumes I receive are just squished together and chaotic."

"In writing resumes," Amy summed up, "I always go back to the two rules about writing I was taught at St. Kate's. Keep the audience and the message in mind and write to fit them." Amy added one final layer of advice, "People would always rather hire someone they know than someone they don't know. That's how humans work, and it's logical and fair. So you have to find a way for someone to get to know you -- to meet them. . . . in hiring, the more structured the hiring process, the bigger the back door. So you can't wait for a job to be posted. You have to meet people in an informational interview or some other context and get contract work. Contract workers get points for being known in the hiring process." In conclusion, she advised, 'if you have a choice between sending out more on-line resumes or meeting people, go out and meet people. It's the best time spent."

For additional counsel on career transitions from Amy Lindgren, read the highlights of the Work Redesign panel event sponsored by the Alumnae Association...
Brunch, Campus Tour, and Barbecue


After the workshop, a fine buffet of croissants, quiche, salad, fruit, and muffins allowed alumnae and their families to casually eat and converse. Senior Vice President Colleen Hegranes, whom many remembered from their time on campus, joined the alumnae for lunch to answer any additional questions they might have about the state of St. Kate's and its future.
From there alumnae and their families showed their fortitude and intensity of interest by pulling out their umbrellas for a tour of the campus's newest features. They began at Fontbonne Hall, where student caretakers of the building's Green Roof described its genesis in a student proposal, leading to a $15,000 grant to explore the feasibility of green roofs on campus. When Fontbonne was determined to be the most appropriate, the $20,000 design, preparation and planting followed, in which students played key roles. The benefits to St. Catherine's come back in terms of water run-off prevention, energy savings and greenhouse gas reduction from the insulation, and plots for student biological projects.
Five different native prairie species are being tested on the roof in various plots of differing amounts of diversity, from five species down to one. Since the plots with a single species have roots of the same length competing, these plants are struggling most. The student scientists are the caretakers through the summer and school year, noting growth pattern and charting data for their scientific hypotheses.


From Fontbonne, attendees progressed to various other buildings, including Whitby Hall to observe the transformation in progress on 3rd Floor from residential housing to classrooms and teacher office spaces. The tour ended with photographs of the classes in the chapel. That evening festivities continued and concluded with a family barbecue.

Alumna Sarah Matthew Tracy SP '99 noted how she stays close to her particular group of friends from St. Kate's and likes to bring her three children to the campus. She and her friends also keep up on what's happening with the Alumnae Association by checking the web site for events, news, and profiles. "There is a lot of support offered by the Alumnae Association. I haven't needed to seek a lot of it out yet, but it's nice knowing it's here."