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Growth and Re-Engagement Teams

Since the 50th celebration, the Growth and Re-Engagement Teams have been hard at work.  

Survey

Earlier this year, we sent out a survey to the entire alumni community asking what you want from this network and how you'd like to be involved. Thank you to everyone who responded — your input is shaping what comes next.

Here's what we heard:

• You want more communication. Message received — and this update is part of our response. Expect to hear from us more regularly going forward.

• There's a strong interest in mentoring. About 50 alumni expressed interest in mentoring or being mentored. We're working with the Growth team to connect you with those opportunities (more on that below).

• You want flexible ways to get involved. Whether it's attending a virtual event, joining a regional gathering, or contributing an hour a month — we're building options that fit your life.

We'll be reaching out to those of you who shared your contact information with specific opportunities over the coming weeks. If you didn't respond to the survey but want to get involved, email team@mmalumni.net.

Community Activities 

We have been experimenting with a few initiatives aimed at helping alumni stay connected while continuing to grow and learn together.

One of the first pilots was a Q4 writing group. Special thanks to Kandy Sartori (MPOD 20) for leading that effort. The group created a dedicated space for alumni to set aside time for their writing and support one another’s progress. While we certainly don’t claim credit for anyone finishing a book, two participants did carry their manuscripts through to completion during this time. At the very least, having a regular space where writers could show up and write together didn’t hurt. 🙂

The Reading Nook, hosted by Destiny Wilkins (MPOD 20) and Chi’ Wilson (MPOD 20), is a quarterly gathering supported by a monthly engagement email that began in January. The goal is to create a simple rhythm for alumni to stay intellectually connected. March served as an informal “reading month,” and an upcoming April session tied to World Book Day will invite alumni to share books that have helped them make sense of the world. Next meeting April 25th 8:00 pm- 9:00 pm EST!📖U.S.A.

We have also hosted several mentoring and peer-support experiments. One example was a peer mentoring and matching initiative led by Mimi Wang (MPOD 17) and Kate Sawyer (MPOD 20). The program included 19 mentors and 8 mentees, with eight mentoring pairs matched from that group! This first round is now wrapping up and has provided helpful learning about how peer mentorship might continue to evolve within the alumni community.

Across these pilots, we are seeing that structured but flexible spaces for alumni to write, read, and mentor one another can meaningfully support both personal and professional growth while strengthening the connections within our alumni network. There are also several additional ideas in development, and we look forward to sharing more as those efforts take shape.

If you’re excited by these kinds of spaces for growth, we’d love to have you involved. You can:

• Join existing offerings, such as the Reading Nook or future writing and mentoring groups, and
  

• Co-create what comes next by lending your skills to help design, host, or refine alumni development programs.
  

If you’re interested in participating or helping to build what’s next, please reach out to Destiny Wilkins at destinykwilkins@gmail.com or respond when you see future invitations. We are especially eager to connect with alumni who feel called to be part of mentoring and peer-learning spaces!