Alumni Relations

Posted by Julie Seedhouse, Director of Alumni Relations

If you think about it, the alumni of MSUB are the school’s most valuable and only consistent asset. The staff, faculty, administration, and even the structures will come and go, but once a person graduates from this University, she or he is an alum for life! You all made a significant investment of your time and money to get your degrees from MSUB, and these degrees have much value. However, you do have the power to capitalize on this value. Your accomplishments, your pride in your alma mater, your positive interactions with people who know you are an MSUB grad—all these things reflect positively on the University, and thus on your degree. When you share your reasons for choosing MSUB with a prospective student, your degree gains value. When you network with your colleagues and the people in your community and tell them you went to MSUB, you add to this value.

It was with this in mind that three years ago Chancellor Sexton created the Office of Alumni Relations and hired me to be its Director. We are located in the beautiful Alumni House on Normal Avenue, just west of the LA Building, and our work is carried out by me, Development Officer Jamie Lane, and the Alumni Association Advisory Board which is made up of 20 dedicated alumni-volunteers. Our mission is to provide you with as many ways as possible to stay connected, network and promote the great things you are doing. We host alumni socials in Billings and across the state and the country. Our quarterly electronic newsletter goes to several thousand alumni. We have revamped our website, have an active presence on Facebook, and are constantly exploring new ways to reach out to you.

I am thrilled to be working with Coach Trentham to engage the alumni of our women’s soccer program! We got off to a great start with a gathering in the Alumni House on Feb. 13 when a group was here for Rocky’s indoor tournament. The plan is to make this an annual event! We also discussed what kind of event should occur during the season, and you will certainly be informed as these plans progress.

If you don’t want to miss out on any of this, send your mailing and email addresses to jseedhouse@msubillings.edu, and join our Facebook group! We want you to continue to part of the Yellowjacket family long after you’ve graduated!

Side note from assistant coach Sara Gress:

First of all, the alumni house is a great resource and a really nice place to have a gathering. Visiting alumni can stay there for free! How long can a visit last...is six months considered a visit? I would encourage all alumni to go visit Julie over there; she is a very welcoming host and I look forward to having more alumni events at the house.

Second, our next big alumni event is the 15th Anniversary Team selection and announcement. Criteria and other alumni information can be found here: http://www.msubillings.edu/athletics/Womens_Soccer/Alumni/Alumni%20Home.html The announcement of the team will be made on Futbol Frenzy weekend, which is October 2nd and 3rd. There will be a brunch on October 3rd, which all current and former MSUB women's soccer players are encouraged to attend.

Also, we are hoping to plan an alumni event in Seattle when the team plays Seattle Pacific University this coming fall. There are a lot of MSUB alumni in the Seattle area and it would be great to have a gathering and watch our girls take on SPU under the lights at Interbay Stadium. We will keep everyone updated about this potential event; we are welcome to suggestions or ideas, so feel free to contact either Julie or myself.