Normally, I write this letter from our offices overlooking Sylvan Green, which on a beautiful spring day can be filled with students out enjoying the weather after a long winter. Today, I write to you from my office at home, across the street from a now empty school in Brookings.
One of the challenges of a magazine that goes out three times a year is avoiding things that may be outdated by the time it reaches your mailbox. In these uncertain times, we took a different approach to this issue of STATE and “froze time†on May 9, 2020, the day that the class of 2020 was scheduled to walk across the stage at Frost Arena.
These pages are filled with stories that speak to what the last couple of months have been like for students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni. It would be impossible to capture all that has happened over these last few months in these pages. Instead, we offer you a snapshot of just some of the remarkable work that went into moving an entire university online, creating virtual experiences to support and celebrate the latter half of the semester, and doing what could be done to help those who need it.
Our job at the Alumni Association is to connect people to one another and their alma mater. As we have sought out ways to connect with you virtually, it has been fun seeing your Jackrabbit-themed rooms, cheering you on during our Virtual 5k, and celebrating your creativity to find ways to give back to your neighbors while physically distancing for #JacksGiveBack.
To the alumni and friends who work in essential services, thank you for the work you have done and the work you continue to do on behalf of the welfare of others. You make all of us so very proud. Stay safe everyone, and we hope to see you soon!
With loyal heart so true,
Andi Fouberg
President & CEO of Alumni Association
