Greeting:
Afi Ahmadi
UVM Alumni Association

Good morning and congratulations to the first members of the great Class of 2012!
I know that many of you are already feeling a little nostalgic, thinking about all that you have experienced over these last few years at UVM and moving on to the next chapter in your lives. Each of you will chart your own course in the years ahead. We’re expecting great things of you.

And as you leave us now, I want to encourage you — please — stay in touch. Continue the connections that you formed here — the friendships you made, the traditions you’ve come to honor, and the many ties to an institution that will remain very much a part of you as you go through life.

To that end, allow me to be the first to welcome you to the UVM Alumni Association.
You now join an extended family of UVM alumni numbering more than 90,000 strong. You will find us nearly anywhere around the globe, making a difference in fields from medicine to education, business, agriculture, journalism, engineering, environment, the arts, in schools and in hospitals, in large corporations and small businesses, and in non-profits of every description.

You will find that your Alumni Association is a rich and active organization that is there to help you stay connected to this special place as well as to your classmates, your teammates, your faculty, and your friends for life.

There are many ways to stay involved. I encourage you to check out the UVM Connection web site, the Vermont Quarterly Magazine, and also the many alumni chapters and gatherings that take place across the country each year. Come back to campus whenever you can, and especially for your reunion gatherings. The door is always open to you. And, on that subject, I want to bring to your attention a very exciting project here on campus that will transform how we as alumni reconnect with UVM. Plans are well under way for the creation of an Alumni House at 61 Summit Street, a home to welcome each of us as we return to campus in the years to come. The Board of the Alumni Association looks forward to sharing news of this historic project with you as it unfolds.

We wish you every success in whatever you undertake, with the help of the excellent education you received here. On behalf of more than 90,000 UVM alumni, congratulations, and welcome — each and every one of you — to our UVM alumni family. To quote the late Humphrey Bogart, “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Congratulations.

Last modified January 22 2012 09:35 AM