In the summer of 2010, I took a road trip to Massachusetts with my StFX alumnus grandfather, Jim Dineen ’62, to attend a milestone birthday celebration for friends of the family, who themselves were StFX graduates. During this trip, my grandpa had brought along some StFX clothing and had cleverly placed it in the backseat of the car so that whenever I turned, it caught my attention…
Soon afterwards, fall arrived and with it, university applications. One night, my grandpa visited with his copy of the Alumni News magazine. Knowing I was considering pursuing a business degree, he showed me the most recent issue that featured a spotlight on the brand new Schwartz School.
Conversations, research, and information sessions (that I usually attended with my grandpa in tow) in the months that followed made it more clear to me that StFX and its reputation as Canada’s “premier undergraduate experience” was the place to pursue my post-secondary education. While attending university over a thousand kilometres away from home seemed daunting at the outset, I knew I wanted an experience that would challenge and immerse me in a brand new and unique environment. StFX could provide so many wonderful opportunities: to apply what you learned in the classroom (where professors addressed you by your first name) in academic competitions; to meet lifelong friends while living in residence; to get involved with extra-curriculars and clubs that sparked interests outside your area of study; and to volunteer in the community, to name only a few. And that it did.
After graduating, I remember asking my grandpa if this StFX “product placement” during that 2010 trip was the first step in his plan to see me attend his alma mater. He just grinned.
I share this story because to me it demonstrates the power of StFX alumni. I truly believe they are the university’s best recruiters. To this day, my mom still jokes (insists, actually) that my grandpa should have been added to the StFX Recruitment Team payroll.
My hope is that you feel inspired by your own StFX stories and experiences to share them with those around you. Perhaps it is by encouraging high school students in your own families and social networks who you feel would benefit from, and be an asset to the Xaverian community, to apply to StFX. Illustrate to them why you believe the university would make a difference in their lives. Connect them with current StFX students. Offer to write reference letters for scholarship applications. Assist recent graduates as they enter the workforce, or provide a comforting welcome as they begin a new journey in your city. Share good news stories happening at StFX. Donate what you can to ensure future generations of students are able to enjoy and take full advantage of what the StFX experience has to offer. We are known, after all, as Canada’s most engaged alumni network!
Many of us will agree that the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of community in our lives. Seek out the StFX community in your own cities to strengthen the bond we all share with our alma mater. I encourage you to engage with the StFX Alumni Chapter closest to you, if you have not yet already. A list of our chapters and their dedicated leaders, located all across the world, can be found here.
Although I may be biased, as a student, I had the best job on campus: working as a caller with the Annual Giving Program in the Advancement Office. This position allowed me the pleasure of speaking with but a fraction of individuals from StFX’s dedicated alumni community. Now, years later as an alumna myself, I look forward to connecting with many more of you to continue supporting and strengthening the Alumni Association.
Hail and Health,
Kathleen Sheridan `15
President, StFX Alumni Association