Building on
MOMENTUM across the country, GENESEO ALUMNI are building a tradition of reconnection. By Kris Dreessen
aul Furcinito graduated 23 years ago and for The committees stretch from nearby Rochester, many of those years has reunited with a handful N.Y., where more than 14,000 alums make their of close friends at Homecoming. homes, to the thousands who live in Florida, the During each trip, he tours campus to take in the Midwest and California. valley, strolls Second Street, savors an Aunt That’s a lot of alums all over — and that’s the point. Cookie’s sub and enjoys a beer with buddies on the Committee coordinators and other alumni memporch of Club 41. bers spearhead efforts to connect alumni with the That “special sauce” — as Furcinito college and each other for social “Alumni are our likes to call Geneseo spirit — of events and professional networking camaraderie, community and educaopportunities. greatest treasure. tion for life is what makes the Since January 2010, the regional They are a wealth of Geneseo experience magical, he says. committees have hosted an average of It keeps Geneseo an integral part of expertise for students four events per month, from family his life, despite the passing of and for the college. outings at baseball games to intimate decades. They are our greatest home dinner parties. They organize Everyone who called Geneseo inspiring programs about the college, ambassadors.” home knows that feeling, says bringing Geneseo to their own backFurcinito. yards. — Rose Anderson, assistant “What I sensed when I was 21 is Alums who participate see their vice president of alumni relations now confirmed at 44,” he says. Geneseo circle multiply to include “There’s something unique about the everyone in their area. Geneseo experience that provides a natural bond for “We are bringing the Geneseo community close to alumni that far exceeds what many other people home again,” says Chicago committee co-chair experience. The proof is in the pudding 20-plus Jeffrey Burkard ’89. “Being part of a community is years out. There is a great deal of enthusiasm among not a physical place. It’s about the people and the alumni about Geneseo.” Furcinito has seen that sentiment put into action as co-chair of the college’s new regional committee in New England. They are hosting more events and seeing more alums come out to ball games, receptions and dinners. Geneseo staff have partnered with alums across the country to create committees in 18 regions of the United States, where the largest clusters of alumni live. There is also a community advocates group in Geneseo.
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alumni gathered for a picnic at the Bisons game last July in Buffalo, n.Y. it is one of the many varied events hosted by alumni that bring graduates of all eras together.
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geneseo scene
PHOTO BY CAROLE SMITH VOLPE ’91