On Nov 15 2021, Penn State Global Alumni Engagement hosted our first biweekly meeting. The purposes of the meeting were to discuss on matters reflecting the past meet and greet, discussing the upcoming events (i.e. Giving Tuesday and Thanksgiving dinner) and also SAGA new updates such as alumni responses to interviews, social media updates, and finally, to celebrate the birthdays of our SAGA members. The meeting was held at Room 410 Boucke Building from 4.30p.m. to 6.30p.m. and 24 members were present.
The meeting began with a mini ice-breaking game led by Afiqah. All SAGA members were given 2 minutes to share their names and the meaning to their group members. They later had to jot down their group members’ names(along with the meaning) on a piece of paper. Rachel recalled all of her group members’ names correctly while Alisia was just one name away from getting all correct. All of the SAGA members were seen to be more comfortable with each other after the game ended.
The meeting was continued with an award session to the Top 5 SAGA members who were able to reach out to their alumni the most. The first place award was given to Afiqah(6 alumni), followed by Alisia(5 alumni), Jeff(5 alumni), Aida(3 alumni) and Jiayuan(3 alumni). Hamza, the meeting host, began a brief session for the Top 5 to share their advice and tips on how they were able to reach out to their alumni. Some of the experiences shared were as below:
“I think one of the challenges in trying to reach out to Korean alumni is we have this cultural norm where the alumni just don’t keep in touch with the others anymore after graduation. There just aren’t any needs for them to do so and thus, making it hard for me to reach out to them.”
-Alisia-
“Out of 60 alumni that I reached out to, only 20 alumni responded. It was a bit difficult for me to set up a meeting with them through Zoom as they were all busy.”
-Aida-
Jeff, Afiqah and Jiayuan also shared their tactics by using LinkedIn, WeChat, and WhatsApp to reach out to their alumni. Some SAGA members also brought up the challenges that they faced while trying to reach out to their alumni.
“I think the reason why alumni were so hesitant to share their information is because they don’t know us. They need proof that can show our team is credible and not some sort of a scam.”
-Redha-
“They might also ignore our emails because they think they are just some sort of advertisements.”
–Rachel-
“The time-zone difference is also another reason why it’s hard for me to set up a meeting with them.”
-Ronnie-
Dr. Anna concluded the discussion by mentioning how important it is to be thoughtful in contacing our alumni. These alumni might be busy with their daily life and as SAGA members, we have to be creative in trying to accommodate their free time in our schedule. In terms of credibility, using Penn State email, having a SAGA business card soon, and sharing our SAGA link at https://sites.psu.edu/globalalumni/2021/10/25/saga-members/ will help build the trust.
The next agenda of the meeting was for the logo updates. Afiqah presented the 6 logos that she and Asma had created. Majority of the SAGA members voted for the light-blue logo and there was also a suggestion to change the flags that were represented on the logo. The suggestion was taken into account as the logo is being finalized.
We later moved on to the GivingTuesday agenda where Dr. Anna presented multiple testimonials from Penn State students, alumni, faculty and staff. A lot of people were able to reap benefits from it during their difficult times. Even though the GivingTuesday donation had just started in less than 24 hours, there was already $15 credited into the donation account. The testimonials proved how important it is for the Penn State community to help the students who are facing financial struggles.
The last discussion in the meeting was about social media updates presented by Jeff and Afiqah. A lot of improvement has been done on WeChat and the SAGA blog. Hamza then wrapped up the meeting with reminders of the upcoming biweekly meeting on Nov 29, and also the end-of-semester luncheon that will be held on Dec 4th 2021.
Right after we finished our formal discussion, Dr. Anna brought up a cake to celebrate Asma, Eden, Hamza and Jeff’s birthday. We all sang the Happy Birthday’s song but in our own language. Though there were different types of languages, it was sung harmonically as they all shared the same melody. We then ended our meeting and ate Domino’s Pizza. Overall, the meeting went as well as expected.
Expand Horizons!
Author: Afiqah Razak