A SSOCIATION A FFAIRS
From your Alumni Engagement Team by Emily Herbette, Director of Alumni Engagement Community is an essential part of being human. Ubuntu is an African philosophy that was shared with me about 15 years ago in the context of bringing a group of people together. Translated as “I am because we are”, to me Ubuntu is understanding my relationships with others. Each person in a community adds to the overall experience of others. The Academy community is unique, loyal, and strong. Your shared experiences allow for a deep connection with one another and a greater opportunity to support each other when in need. Each day we may face stress, traffic on the way to work or the dog slobbering on your work pants as we head out the door… late. These things seem small compared to the stress the pandemic has placed on our families and community. Some of us are experiencing job loss or job insecurity. The addition of our Bears Supporting Bears program aims to help alleviate these pressures and allow for community support. A simple act of referring a job or posting an opportunity at your company could be the spark someone else needs. Similarly, a series of career-focused articles written by Academy graduates, are featured in this issue starting on page 48, our last issue and in the next one to provide support, lessons learned and guidance to our greater community. Sharing life experiences may encourage the other person and allows our whole community to grow. The pandemic has also created a sense of isolation, physically and mentally. Your Alumni Association has offered several virtual series to keep our community engaged and connected during these times. Visiting in person is always preferred, but these events have proven to be a good substitute! In October we proudly partnered with PREVENTS (The President’s Roadmap
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to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide) Office to serve as a force-multiplier in their goal of preventing suicide — among not just Veterans but all Americans. As a Strategic Partner, the Association will proactively engage and educate our members to reduce the occurrence of suicide by increasing awareness about mental health and suicide prevention. Be on the lookout in 2021 for our participation in the REACH campaign to empower and educate our community. A simple outreach can be the support a friend or family member needs. Creating a thriving community requires active engagement and participation. Together we can connect, listen, and support each other to make our community and ourselves even stronger. Through the pandemic, we have learned to or tried to be more flexible. We are making new traditions with family and learning new work habits. COVID has impacted events big and small, including Homecoming. After some scheduling changes to the home football games and confirming with the Academy, we would like to share the dates for both of our Homecomings and Parents Weekend in 2021.
9/18: Homecoming (0s and 5s) 9/25: Parents Weekend 10/2: Homecoming (1s and 6s) Your Alumni Association looks forward to supporting the Long Blue Line as we navigate reunions, career transitions, life, and this pandemic. Thank you for your continued patience and flexibility. Please let us know how we can help, while our doors may not always be open, our hearts are!
December 2020/January 2021
