Jangan Bangga Dipanggil Sayang, Makanan yang Jatuh Sebelum 5 Menit Juga Dipanggil ‘Sayang’
My nephew called to tell me about his new car and I shared my first car experience at 16: I told him that during the first night I kept looking out the window to verify that it was real. He laughed and admitted that he had done the same thing. When we disconnected, I thought about the "honeymoon period" we tend to have with people and things, and how exhilarating it is at first until it morphs into feelings far less interesting like responsibility.
Several cars later, I never did a "reality check" after bringing them home, because to me, they were just responsibility wrapped up in transportation. My first car represented freedom since I didn't have to borrow my parents' car, or wait for a ride after school or from work. It was my car and I was driving on cloud nine until responsibility swerved in front of me. Understanding responsibility is relatively straightforward when it comes to financial matters; you either execute with timeliness or not, based on your maturity and means. On the other hand, the ability to respond when it involves relationships, personal or professional can be more complicated.
This became clear when an alumnus told me how her excitement after graduation led her and friends to visit their Alma Mater frequently the first year. After the second year, the excitement waned and it became a hassle and they lost interest. Four years drifted by and they hadn't participated in any activities. When I asked her to define hassle, she said the eight-hour round trip, her job, boyfriend, the football team and possibly her three-legged dog or hog-I wasn't sure because she was talking in circles. The short version was "she hated to miss it, but she really didn't want to go." Not only was her excitement gone, it was completely lost and she wasn't trying to find it.
This conversation colorfully summed up the main challenge of Alma Maters after graduation, RELEVANCE. How do they matter and keep the relevance while their Alums' lives evolve? What I wanted to say to the Alum with the three-legged hog was, "you got a life, right?" It made sense that she would go back to the familiar when surrounded by the unfamiliar. She graduated, moved to a new city and didn't know many people. So she bonded with her college friends and they all went back to the familiar, their Alma Mater. That was fun until they became familiar with their new lives and perhaps realized that the value of those alumni activities had faded away, to the point that it no longer outweighed the efforts required to stay connected.
Familiarity and value are strongly connected to donations. A friend curtly told me that she didn't donate to her university because she didn't feel a connection. She donated and supported a number of charities from cancer to heart associations, but donating to her Alma Mater was not an option. She received a great education and paid a great sum to get it, NEXT! To her, it was black-and-white, but that is not always the case. Some Alums donate to their schools because they received a scholarship and they want to pay it forward, or they have pride in their college and to support a particular program like the drama club or another club in which they were involved. Like my friend, some Alums do not donate because they feel like they paid for their education and no other support is needed. Other Alums can't afford it or feel like paying their student loans is their donation.
Again, Mattering appears to be the overall challenge for colleges/universities to connect and stay connected with their Alums. There are number of Alums who do not participate in their alumni activities because they do feel that their Alma Mater supported them beyond graduation. For some Alma Maters, defining Mattering will be harder than creating fire with a wet match, but for others it will light a fire under their creativity to reach out and become relevant on different levels outside of their current view. Because loyalty is not inherent upon graduation, especially with the millennial generation: it is EARNED.
Gwendolyn M. Ward is a Principal at FOOW. FOOW (Fish Out of Water, LLC) is a professional development and career coaching firm committed to providing entry and mid-level professionals guidance, mentoring and continuous support. FOOW facilitates tailored alumni workshops on college campuses covering career transitioning, career direction and deconstructing discontent, in addition to corporate coaching services. The "Now What?" series are off campus workshops tailored to meet the specific needs of professionals in transition, and companies in the midst of layoffs and seeking ways to prepare soon-to-be displaced workers. The workshops are designed to help participants examine their current challenges and identify next steps to address their immediate concerns. For more information about FOOW visit http://www.foowater.com
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