The Alumni Guide to
Life After Guelph
Your time as students
Your time as alumni
Congratulations and Welcome to the Alumni Family! Today is a moment to celebrate your efforts and accomplishments as a student. You have reached an important milestone in life, and we congratulate you on this extraordinary achievement. Tomorrow you will join the ranks of our alumni, and we would like to welcome you to the University of Guelph Alumni Association (UGAA). With over 100,000 active alumni members, we are proud of our shared past, the success of our university and the accomplishments of our alma mater.
As alumni, you are afforded many privileges. This is a life‑long membership, and there are no fees. We encourage all of our members to stay connected to the University of Guelph, whose mission is to change lives and improve life. You are joining an alumni family committed to improving quality of life in health, food, environment, and the greater community. We invite you to stay involved, share your latest achievements and be our ambassadors in the world, demonstrating how Guelph graduates are making a difference.
Brad Rooney, OAC ’97 UGAA President
I’m a What? Alumnus One man (or one generic graduate)
Alumni Two or more male graduates (or a group of mixed graduates) Alumnae Two or more female graduates The term alumni is most often used as it is gender neutral and describes a group of both men and women. Alumnus when there’s one of us, alumni when there’s more. To pluralize I wonder why they subtract us and add an i. Seems perfectly ridiculous, or is that ridiculi? — Anonymous Are you following this? Alumnus, alumna, alumnae, alumni, all come from the Latin alumnus, which means foster pupil and is derived from the verb alere, which means to nourish. What is my alma mater? Your alma mater is the University of Guelph or any other school that you have studied at and graduated from.
Alumna One woman
43 years
101
Average age of alumni
Oldest living U of G alumnus
Alumni by province Alberta British Columbia Manitoba New Brunswick Newfoundland and Labrador Northwest Territories Nova Scotia Nunavut Ontario Prince Edward Island Quebec Saskatchewan Yukon Territory
2,326 3,106 528 457 191 66 927 22 89,314 243 882 479 84
55% 45% 73,850 59,936 female grads
male grads
34%
U of G grads live in 1930s
1940s
148
1950s
countries
1960s
1970s
Percentage of all alumni who have graduated in the last decade
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
Annual Events
Check out all the specific dates at www.alumni.uoguelph.ca/events Alumni Weekend— mid-June Organize a group of friends or a special interest group from U of G to come back to campus! New student move in—first weekend of September Join the alumni orientation team, or come back to be inspired again by the Pep Rally!
Other annual events College career nights College Royal Homecoming— Third weekend of September Come join other alumni and students for the Homecoming football game. Make sure you pop by the alumni tent and say “Hi!”
U of G alumni Blue Jays game Various college golf tournaments Countdown to Guelph
To make sure you hear about these great events, please keep your contact information up-to-date at www.alumni.uoguelph.ca/update
Services and Benefits Don’t miss out! As a life-long member of the alumni family, you are entitled to many services and benefits. Take advantage of all we have to offer! Perks Alumni library card, athletics membership discount, career services programs, and a lifelong subscription to the Portico magazine. (Please update your address so you won’t miss an issue!) Home and Car Insurance Preferred group rates, enhanced coverage and flexible limits with our partner, TD Meloche Monnex. Life, Health and Disability Insurance Affordable rates on a wide range of insurance plans from Manulife Financial.
UGAA Credit Card Get the MBNA UGAA MasterCard and with every purchase you make with your card, MBNA supports alumni activities at the University of Guelph at no additional cost to you. Special Promotions Enjoy exclusive discounts on sporting events, theme parks and attractions, museums and theatre productions. For more information visit www.alumni.uoguelph.ca/services
Milestones
We want to help celebrate your life milestones by sending you a gift! Let us know when you get married, purchase a new house or have a new addition to your family by sending an email to milestones@uoguelph.ca
Legacy and Tradition
1870s–1930s
e, 1874
Moreton Lodg
OAC Grads,
1888
Massey Library, 1930s
Macdonald Institute and Macdonald Hall, 1910s
1930s–70s
Conversat Ball, 1939
0
Mac, 193
OVC Class of 1956
Aerial View of U of G, 1969
Johnson
Hall, 1950
s
McLaughlin Library, 1970s
Economics C
lass, Mackinn
on, 1978
1980s–2000s
r Compute
5
lass, 198
Science C
Winegard Wal
k, 1980s
g, 2000s
Homecomin
Convocation, 2012
How to Give Back The University of Guelph is known by many as the most caring university in the world. As you now carry a Guelph degree, you bring this culture of caring into the world. Philanthropy, which means “love of humanity,� is spread by time, talent and treasure and is the best way you can help give back. So we ask you to please: Volunteer your time Come back to campus and share your story with future grads! www.alumni.uoguelph.ca/ volunteer
Help us celebrate 50 years since the U of G brought the three founding colleges together as a single institution in 1964. www.uoguelph.ca/50
Share your talent Help mentor students to find their path by sharing your knowledge and experiences. Make a donation Donations to the University of Guelph support students and research for improving health, communities, food and the environment. www.alumni.uoguelph.ca/give
Get Involved, Stay Connected! As many of you were involved in different student clubs, sports teams and peer support programs you’ve created a culture of being involved. Don’t ever let that go— it’s who you are. There are ways to stay connected to Guelph even after graduation. An enthusiastic team at Alumni Affairs and Development is willing to help organize regional gatherings and reunions, and communicate the goings-on of campus. The alumni community is vast in both numbers and locations. We need enthusiastic members of the community to help represent the interests of fellow alumni on the University of Guelph Alumni Association or other councils on campus. Contact ugaa@uoguelph.ca to get involved!
We love new friends on Facebook! Like our University of Guelph Alumni Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/ uofgalumni
Follow @UofGalumni on Twitter to keep up with the latest insights from campus.
Keep informed with our alumni eNews. Update your contact information at www.alumni. uoguelph.ca/ update
Develop your online professional network by joining the University of Guelph Alumni group on LinkedIn.
Brand new for 2014 is our uofgalumni Instagram account!
My To-Do List ✔✔ Update your contact information —don’t miss out on exclusive events, contests and updates. www.alumni.uoguelph.ca/update ✔✔ Follow U of G alumni social media — stay connected and in-the-know! ✔✔ Visit www.alumni.uoguelph.ca — learn about events and other great opportunities. ✔✔ Attend Alumni Weekends — learn what’s been going on since you left. ✔✔ Make a gift to help support future Guelph students — and grads! ✔✔ Check out all the great perks of being a grad — VIP style. ✔✔ Come back and visit campus — we will miss you! ✔✔ Share your life milestones — new baby, house or marriage? We’d like to say congrats! ✔✔ Don’t forget to keep winding your toy (whenever you can!). Please send us pictures :)
1 2 3
10 tips from fellow Alumni
on’t be afraid of making D mistakes! Learn from them, and move on. Don, BSc (Eng), ’68
4 5
on’t wait for opportunities, D make them. Sash, BA ’13 efore looking for jobs, take B a resume/cover letter writing workshop, and clean up your social media accounts! Abby, BA ’03
There is no substitute for hard work. Nick, BSc Eng ’01, MSc Eng ’06
s hard as you work, A make sure you play twice as hard. Tim, BComm ’91
6 7 8 9 10
ou never know who you will Y meet, what experiences you will gain, and where they will lead you. Navjit, BSc, ’13
ake yourself happy and life M itself will be more fun, and a lot easier to handle. Robert, BA ’02
tay engaged! Take S advantage of what U of G has to offer, post-graduation. Jessica, BA ’13
Enjoy the process as much as the end result. Reid, BComm ’02
gility will take A you far. Be flexible in your choices, and be prepared for constant change. Stephanie, BAA ’11
Partners
We’re still here to help you!
As a grad, you are automatically a member of the U of G alumni association. If you are interested in joining the UGAA board of directors to stay involved and share your ideas please email ugaa@uoguelph.ca
Job Postings, Career Advising, Fairs & more...
www.recruitguelph.ca
Protect your future. Now that you’ve graduated, health and dental care could get expensive. Congratulations to all new University of Guelph graduates!
Fortunately, your Alumni Association sponsors the exclusive Alumni Health & Dental Plan. Learn more at
We are proud to be a U of G alumni affinity partner. As of today, you can enjoy competitive group rates, outstanding customer service and quality coverage tailored to your needs with our TD Insurance Meloche Monnex program.
healthplans101.ca/guelph Your proud U of G alumni affinity partner:
1-888-589-5656 melochemonnex.com/uoguelphalumni
1 888 913 • 6333
am_info@manulife.com
Underwritten by
The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (Manulife Financial). ®
The TD logo and other trade-marks are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank.
Manulife, Manulife Financial, the Manulife Financial For Your Future logo and the Block Design are trademarks of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and are used by it, and by its affiliates under license. Exclusions and limitations apply.
Memories As you graduate, you will be looking forward to your future. Take a moment to write down some memories of Guelph so that you can look back every now and then to reminisce of the great moments you’ve had here. My most notable memory at Guelph is when
I wish I hadn’t
My favourite class was
My favourite thing about U of G is
My best decision was
In 10 years, I see myself
Are you proud to be a Gryphon? Tweet why, using #iamagryphon to share it with other proud Gryphons.