May 2015 Interested in the alumni chapter? If you are interested in learning more about the organization or joining our Alumni Chapter, please contact the Executive Board at wcucommalum@gmail.com. You can also find our Board Members on Facebook and make sure to look out for upcoming events! We would love to expand our database, so please send us your name, graduation year, email and job title/company. This will help for /fundraising future networking events and the needs of our current students & professors. Meet Our Alumni Laura Putnam Feature Alumni Stay tuned for upcoming events and opportunities to connect and network with other WCU Alum! Executive Board President – Virginia Smith Vice President – Jillian Morgan Secretary/Treasurer -‐Ashley Loper Public Relations -‐ Michelle Ortendahl “Meet Our Alumni” is a new section of our newsletter that will be featured each issue. This is a wonderful way for current students to get to know past students and find out about their careers. This will create a personal reference for current students who may be interested in the same field or would like more information of same. Our hope is to aid in building relationships between students, companies, employers & alumni. The spotlight for this week’s alumna shines on: Laura Putnam Laura graduated in 2011 and during her time at West Chester, she was very active around campus. She was a Resident Assistant for three years, the President of Major Entertainment and part of the Honor’s Seminar program. Networking and courses such as, Careers in Communications, helped Laura enter the non-‐‑profit realm and get to where she is today. Subaru Share the Love Event with After graduation, Laura began a job with the Alzheimer’s Association-‐‑ Delaware Valley Chapter, which is based out of Philadelphia, as their Corporate Relations Coordinator. As the Corporate Relations Coordinator, Laura was responsible for acting as the Corporate Liaison for companies in Delaware, South Jersey and Southern Pennsylvania, assisting with sponsor recruitment, company team formation & fundraising for events. Laura’s accomplishments include, but are not limited to, helping make the 2013 Philadelphia Walk to End Alzheimer’s the #1 Alzheimer’s Walk in the nation and being on the chair of the Gala Planning Committee which planned the Gatsby Gala and Masquerade Ball events. Alzheimer’s Association National While working at the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, Laura worked closely with the National Corporate Initiatives team through a peer group program. Through this, she was able to learn important fundraising and stewardship skills and work on large priority accounts, such as the members of the National Staff. While working with the team, Laura learned that they would be restructuring and offering National positions, so Laura interviewed and accepted her current job in Chicago. Laura is now the Senior Specialist Project Manager at the Office. She oversees the Alzheimer’s Workplace Alliance which consists of thousands of businesses and organizations and assists the Corporate Initiatives team. Laura admits that the toughest decision for her was leaving her friends, colleagues and family, but also says that she had plenty of encouragement from friends and professors from West Chester. Laura plans to join a company volunteer committee that will help her meet more of the 300+ employees who work in the office. She is having an extremely positive experience so far and even found a bar that plays Eagles games! To find out more about Laura’s experience or for advice, please contact Laura at lputman@alz.org. New and exciting things are happening!!! Check out WCU’s Masters in Communication Studies 36 Credits! WCU Philadelphia students receive a 10% tuition discount as well as reduced fees.