LTU Goes Road-Tripping

Kevin Finn and his team made a few stops to visit with alumni in California; here he is pictured with James Wolak (BSME’08) at a vegan restaurant in San Francisco.

Blue Devil pride knows no boundaries.

At least that’s what Kevin Finn, VP for LTU’s Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement and his team learn when they take road trips to meet up with alumni.

“I think they appreciate when we take the opportunity to come out and see them,” Finn said, adding that it’s important to catch up with LTU grads and see first-hand how their education paid off.

Recent trips to Arizona, California, and Florida confirmed the value of an LTU degree – and Phoenix has been a major beneficiary of LTU’s talent pool.

“I think about how that area has evolved and the Lawrence Tech architects and engineers who helped build the city of Scottsdale,” Finn said, adding: “I’m always amazed to see what our alumni have done and where they’ve gone with their lives.”

They also seem ready to support Lawrence Tech – in whatever way they can. Sometimes they seek to hire students fresh out of LTU. Other times, they’re curious about LTU’s future. Often, they want to give back.

And when that happens, Finn and his team figure out what alums hope to accomplish – and how their aspirations of supporting the University mesh with LTU’s fundraising priorities.

Luckily, there’s often a match around scholarship funds. “It makes the most sense to go out and reach the alums who’ve had success because of Lawrence Tech. They seem to be the alumni who really want to return the favor,” especially when they remember how their own education was made possible through someone’s generosity to a scholarship fund.

Sometimes, the positive impact a faculty member made on their life motivates alumni to give back – especially when it’s long-lasting and felt at a personal level.

“We promise people we have that small classroom experience and a kind of family-type atmosphere and then you hear from the people who have experienced it and a lot of the time it was the mentoring beyond the academics that meant so much to them,” Finn said.

Phoenix-area alums met with LTU’s alumni engagement team at VIA 313, a Detroit-style pizzeria in Tempe, Arizona.

Finn is also surprised by the number of LTU graduates who are civically engaged. In fact, there are at least two mayors in the bunch – Shannon Dare Wayne (BSIM’98, MSIO’03) is the mayor Pro Tem for the City of Milan and Mike Kozlowski (BSAr’97 and MAr’99) was recently named mayor for the city of Folsom in California for the second time.

The desire to be good citizens was also evident at a recent LTU Alumni Association retreat, when several alums revealed their commitment to community service organizations such as Meals on Wheels – on top of working and volunteering for the University as an alumni association board member.

“What catches my eye is that, man, they are all just very good people,” Finn added.

by Pam Houghton