UST Engineering Alumni Reflections

Early UMAC: Dale Wahlstrom's Personal Reflections

(Ed. Note – Dale Wahlstrom was the first chairman/president of UMAC – he worked with Ron and a handful of MMSE grads to start the group. They started with a blank piece of paper and evolved into a group that continues to support the MMSE program and permit a network for former students to stay in touch as their careers progress. We asked Dale to reflect on those early days of UMAC.)

I remember the first conversation I had with Ron about the idea of having an alumni organization. Ron was new to his position and was looking for new ways to think about the program. He was concerned about how to grow it in both numbers, quality and content. Somewhere the ideaof having the alumni help with this task was put on the table. The thought being that most of the alumni are employed and practicing the skills that the program develops. I had a sense that Ron felt the program was at a crossroads, and the idea of using alumni to help determine which fork to take was appealing to him.

At the same time, I had been an alumni for over a year – after graduating the program I found that UST had become part of my life and that "I MISSED SCHOOL!!!”. I missed the Intellectual stimulation that came from the study routine and the interaction with other students. Therefore, the idea of an alumni organization to help reconnect those who felt the same void that I did, was attractive to me. The idea was tossed about a bit and gained momentum. The rest is history.

The most vivid recollection I have of those early days was the first meeting. None of us really had an idea what we were doing, or even what we wanted to do. We spent most of that first meeting just talking about why we felt an Alumni organization was a good thing. Who would care enough to be a member and give some time to make it a contributing body? As I recall, we couldn't resolve that topic the first night, so we switched to coming up with a name. Naming UMAC proved to be the highlights of my early memories. I don't know how many different acronyms we tossed about, but the process was a lot of fun and I do believe that UMAC was the best. I am glad it stuck.

I think we are still dealing with the question of who will care enough to contribute and what will they contribute. As listed in Kevin's memo on milestones, UMAC has done a lot. But it doesn't seem like too many of the best outcomes were planned, they just seemed to happen. I guess that is what an alumni group is all about. A group of grads who care about giving back when there is a need. We all got a lot out of St. Thomas (assuming you put the effort in), and it feels really good to be able to give back once in awhile.

As I look to the future and the aging of my career, I find more and more joy out of interfacing with St. Thomas and especially the undergrad students. They are a source of energy for me that was unexpected. I am always so impressed with their skills and capabilities. I get more from them than they get from me.

For an alumni organization to be able to sustain itself over time, the alumni have to get something out of the relationship. I think the "get" for the alumni is the personal satisfaction and growth that comes from working with an organization that is committed to excellence and kids (young adults) that are full of the energy, intellectual quickness and the enthusiasm that makes all of us feel alive. It is my hope that UMAC's members grab onto this and give back the skills that they have honed over the years. We are a talented group of individuals that have a lot to give. The world will be a better place because of us.

Congratulations to Ron and his team at UST. I think they have only begun.

Middle Years: Kevin Nicholson's Personal Reflections

It was a pleasure putting together a review of the UMAC activities, events and accomplishments over the last few years. It was a long & impressive list. The UMAC team should take a moment and reflect on these accomplishments. It reflects good teamwork, and added significant value to the Department. I always enjoyed working with the UMAC team and all of the folks associated with the Department & the University. This is a committed bunch, but a group that knows how to have some fun also.

As we look to the future of the UMAC organization, some thoughts that are important to me are listed below.

1. Communication of the things that were enjoyable to prospective UMAC members, and making sure the work always has some fun and enjoyment associated with it. I think we'd like to expand participation in the UMAC team:

• The Department and University staffs are generally easy & fun to work with, and are committed to the mission.
• The UMAC group is easy & fun to work with, and are committed to the mission.
• The work is intellectually stimulating, and adds good value to the department. In the end, it will add equity to our degrees. We received good value for our hard work while we were earning our degrees, and it's OK to give back a little to the University.
• It's fun to be back on a college campus!

2. I think we want to continue many of the fine programs that have been established, including the Spring Dinner, the Fall Plant tour and a summer social event.

3. I think we want to emphasize development in the broadest sense:

• Develop & integrate the growing undergrad Alumni population into UMAC
• Develop and enhance the value of our degrees thru continued marketing support for the program & Department
• Develop better awareness of the Department and it's programs by helping tell our story to anyone who will listen
• Work on sustaining and growing the Department thru focused activities in conjunction with the Office of Development, including but not limited to solicitation for monetary support using our extensive network.

Long-term perspective: Bob Dummer's Personal Reflections

I have had the opportunity to be on the ground floor when we started the Alumni Connection and to work with Dale, Kevin and a host of other graduates to establish this group. We struggled with what we were about and why we were together. In the end, we all agreed that we missed the friendships and associations with other students and faculty and felt that if we formed an organization associate with UST we could stay involved. We worked with Ron Bennett to establish programs that we could be involved with and maintain contact. We wanted the group to be multifunctional – providing opportunities to socialize, go on Plant tours and generally expand our network of industry contacts. We have used a number of different events to encourage participation – including picnics, Saints games, golf outings, UST open houses and the annual Spring Dinner. We have been involved in helping set the future direction of the Engineering and Technology Management Program and were active participants in the ABET certification program. We worked information booths at the State Fair and helped with the STEPS program, which encourages young women to consider engineering careers.