What is Ball State’s Young Alumni Council?

Spending four years anywhere and having to leave it behind is never easy, but perhaps one of the hardest goodbyes to share is between a college graduate and the campus they called home. With Ball State’s Young Alumni Council (YAC), most recent graduates who still want to hold on to their college campus can.

Ball State’s young alumni are an important part of the Cardinal family, and those who have graduated within the past 15 years are invited to join Ball State’s YAC, a group of alumni volunteers seeking to remain engaged and empower others to do the same.

The mission behind YAC is to foster a culture of engagement and giving by sparking nostalgia, driving young alumni engagement through time, talent and treasure and educating current students on becoming active young alumni. 

Through social events, service projects, programs and career resources, volunteers craft and gear YAC to young alumni’s interests and needs, not just to support and guide them through the job search, but in hopes of helping young alumni stay in touch.

What is YAC’s mission?

In order to best serve Ball State’s young alumni, YAC actively gathers and collects feedback from young alumni, surveying the group every five years to gain a better understanding of what nostalgia is to them in relation to Ball State, as well as how and why they would like to continue being engaged.

Through social media campaigns featuring YAC members and others, the council promotes a diverse, detailed and interactive community and encourages young alumni to actively share their thoughts and ideas with YAC to be as helpful a resource as possible.

Current volunteers and members maintain a shared document of ideas that university colleges and departments can use to connect with and engage with young alumni, and the document only continues to grow.

Currently, YAC promotes things like Cocktails with Cardinals for young alumni to network, gather and connect once more, as well as other offsite, casual gatherings in various regions.

Every member of the YAC remains engaged through council responsibilities like speaking with active and invested young alumni, creating and maintaining an “Alumni Influencers” group offering specific opportunities for engagement and sharing resources like the University’s Graduway system, Cardinals Connect, to promote the benefit of community.

The excitement of welcoming new young alumni to the family begins with educating current students on what it means to be a young alumnus of Ball State University. YAC consistently encourages upperclassmen to join Cardinals Connect, promoting mentorship and networking opportunities for recent graduates entering the workforce.

This year, YAC is thrilled to welcome nine new young alumni to the council.

New YAC Members

Catherine Burgess, ‘18

  • New Bern, NC
  • College of Communication, Information, and Media
  • Communications Coordinator at International Paper

Allison Murray, ‘16

  • Fort Wayne
  • Teacher’s College
  • Academic Advisor at Purdue Fort Wayne

Nathan Wilson, ‘15

  • Westfield, IN
  • College of Communication, Information, and Media
  • Foreman at Premier Exterior Care

Olivia Vecchiolli, ‘21

  • Muncie
  • College of Sciences and Humanities
  • Graduate Assistant at BSU Disability Services

Anna Park, ‘19

  • Muncie
  • Miller College of Business
  • Office Coordinator at Open Door Health Services

Tavyn Smith, ‘22

  • Indianapolis
  • Teachers College
  • Teacher at Lawrence Township

Kinsey Reese, ‘21

  • Yorktown
  • College of Communication, Information, and Media
  • Assistant Communications Specialist at BSU College of Sciences and Humanities

Marissa Perkowski, ‘22

  • Knoxville
  • College of Communication, Information, and Media
  • Graduate Assistant for the Center of Student Engagement at the University of Tennessee

Conor Dailey (Student Rep)

  • Senior
  • Environmental Stewardship & Music
  • Grosse Pointe Farms, MI
  • Honors College