Alumni Association Councilors, 2002-03

Online Community allows old friends to connect—and more

Like most alumni, Adam Balch (Cowell '81) fell out of touch with some of his friends after leaving UCSC. And like most alumni, he occasionally wondered what became of them.

"I don't know what the sociology is about it, but to this day, my two best friends are people I met at Cowell. We had a pretty special group, and I missed some of them," says Balch, who now works in finance and lives in Los Angeles.

This spring, Balch was among the first people to make use of the Alumni Association's Online Community. In his first try, he was able to find two old friends--one of whom was in California and the other on the East Coast--and ended up making arrangements to meet several more during the Banana Slug Spring Fair reunion weekend.

According to Balch, using the Alumni Association's Online Community is "a fun way for people to stay in touch. You don't have to make a commitment to phone someone you haven't seen in a long time. Once you're registered (with the Online Community), e-mail makes it easy to reconnect where there's a bond, but you'd fallen out of touch. It's a good thing."

Balch made use of the Online Community's other top feature: the ability to set up a web-accessible "affinity" alumni e-mail address (alumname@ucscalumni.com). Affinity e-mail addresses are free for Alumni Association members. "I was getting a lot of junk e-mail at my old address. I wanted to create a personal e-mail address to use with my friends--keep the riffraff on my old account," he jokes.

Whether it's renewing old friendships or showing "Slug" pride with an affinity e-mail address, thousands of alumni are using the new Online Community at www.alumni.ucsc.edu.

For the first time in UCSC's history, these free online services are allowing alumni to:

• Use the Alumni Online Directory to get in touch with classmates and friends.

• Sign up for a web-accessible alumni e-mail address (alumname @ucscalumni.com), free to Alumni Association members.

• Update their individual profile with current information so fellow alumni can find them.

• Share news of recent milestone events, and even a photo, by posting a "class note."

• Post resumes, search for jobs online, and exchange business cards.

• Register for reunions and alumni events with the added benefit of being able to see a list of who plans to attend.

• Join or renew membership in the Alumni Association online.

• And much, much more.

All alumni are welcome to use the free Online Community and Alumni Directory. Register today at www.alumni.ucsc.edu.

Scholarship winner Stacy Williams and Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood. Photo: UCSC Photo Services

History major honored with Alumni Association scholarship

Stacy Williams is the kind of student who might not have made it to UCSC.

She's the fifth of seven children. Her father is a disabled veteran; her mother suffers from schizophrenia. While she was growing up, money was tight, and there were times when the family recycled cans and used food stamps just to get by. Williams found solace at school. "We took our time walking home each day because we knew what little would be there to greet us," she remembers. "That's a horrible feeling that, unfortunately, is a fact of life for far too many children. I wish I could let them know things get better. Because things do get better."

That's certainly been the case for Williams, now a history major looking forward to junior year abroad at the University of London. "Towns in England date back to the first century," she says with relish. "I can't wait."

Being at UCSC has been a great experience. "I've matured," she says. "UCSC teaches you to think. With each class, I become more of an enlightened person, more analytical and critical. I truly believe that if we gave a college education to everyone, 90 percent of the world's problems would disappear."

Her enthusiasm for learning brought Williams to the attention of the Alumni Association Scholarship Fund selection committee, which awarded her a $2,500 scholarship, renewable at $1,500 every year until she graduates. Williams was one of 16 financially needy undergraduates who received one of the coveted awards in 2001-02. The UCSC Alumni Association, generous alumni, and friends fund the awards.

"It is remarkable to think that someone has faith in me, invested confidence in my abilities, and hopes that I will succeed," Williams wrote to the Alumni Association. "I await this coming school year with great anticipation, where I hope to return your kindness with diligence. Thank you once again."

To make a donation to the Alumni Association Scholarship Fund, send a check payable to the UCSC Foundation, 74 River Street, First Floor, Santa Cruz, CA 95060-4593 (note "Alumni Association Scholarship Fund" on your check). For more information, call Jennifer Wood, director of Annual and Special Gifts, toll free at (800) 933-SLUG.

UCSC Alumni Vintner's Wine Tasting

David Graves (Crown '74), general partner at the acclaimed Saintsbury winery, pours chardonnay at last summer's UCSC Alumni Vintner's Wine Tasting. This year's wine tasting is scheduled for Saturday, July 27, and will feature 15 wineries, hors d'oeuvres, live music, a silent auction, and more. To get on the invitation list, contact the Alumni Association by phone at (800) 933-SLUG or via e-mail at alumni@cats.ucsc.edu. Or, get more information and R.S.V.P. on the web at www.alumni.ucsc.edu.

Photo: Shmuel Thaler

Banana Slug Spring Fair (April 2003) Reunion Planning

"If you plan it, they will come." Plan your reunion NOW for Banana Slug Spring Fair (April 2003). Contact Lynn Zachreson at the UCSC Alumni Association, (800) 933-SLUG or lynnz@cats.ucsc.edu.

Banana Slug Spring Fair 2002 photos, from left: Patty Durkee, Paul Lawton (Crown '72), Monika Wolff, Ken Feingold (Cowell '71, pointing), Bill Justin (Stevenson '72, crouched), and UCSC Vice Chancellor Ron Suduiko enjoyed the Class of '72 Thirty-Year Reunion exhibit of early '70s photos by alumni; Cowell Programs coordinator Angie Christmann met up with grads Alvaretta Baxter (Kresge '90) and Gregory Canillas (Cowell '90) at the Cowell Provost's reception; the All-Alumni Reunion Luncheon allowed history professor Peter Kenez to reconnect with his former student Judy Flynn-O'Brien (Crown '72).

All photos: shmuel thaler

All-Alumni Career Conference

Sponsored by the Alumni
Associations of the University of
California (AAUC)

Saturday, Sept. 28, 2002
8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Doubletree Hotel Pasadena Pasadena, CA

Cost: $30 members /$45 non-members
before Sept. 7;
registration after 9/7, add $15.

Find more information and
register at www.ucalumni.net

Questions? Contact Allison Garcia
at the UCSC Alumni Association,
(800) 933-slug, or via e-mail at acgarcia@cats.ucsc.edu