Young Alumni take the stage
Andrew Demetriou, Chief Executive officer of the AFL and La Trobe Alumnus.
Be a YAG — and proud of it
Universities abound with acronyms. Th ere’s a new one at La Trobe that’s catching on fast as more under-graduates become YAGs. Th is might seem strange seeing YAG stands for Young Alumni Group – and Alumni is, of course, the graduates’ association.
It’s all part of an eff ort to get in early, to instil the sort of pride and sense of belonging that many graduates have towards their universities in the US and Canada.
‘Australian alumni associations,’ says Alumni Relations Manager, Chintan Bharwada, ‘are nowhere near as well developed as their North American counterparts. We are one of the fi rst universities in Australia to promote our alumni association to current students.’
Launched at the start of the year, La Trobe invested in a marketing and advertising campaign featuring anima characters to promote itself to students. Th e challenge was to organise events that appealed both to students and graduates, and were a bit diff erent to traditional reunions and career-oriented events.
Th e fi rst of these was a ‘Guitar Hero’ night which attracted more than sixty people to the Bundoora campus Eagle Bar – a popular venue for current students and one which holds fond memories for former students.
La Trobe’s YAG eff ort was recognised in October by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in its journal, Currents.
Alumni Lecture
Andrew Demetriou, below, Chief Executive Offi cer of the AFL and a La Trobe alumnus, delivered this year’s Alumni Lecture in October. Attended by more than 300 people, the event gained national media exposure with Mr Demetriou raising the prospect of AFL expansion into Tasmania.
Keep in touch at www.latrobe.edu.au/alumni.