EAAvesdropping

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

The EAB and me

More often than not, I’m your friendly blogger recapping the latest young alumni happy hour that I’ve been to, but I figured it was time to share what I actually do here at the Emory Alumni Association (EAA) Although, I think my dream job would be just going to happy hours.

I have the privilege of working with the Emory Alumni Board (EAB), a group of 44 alumni representing the schools and units of the University. They have proven their dedication to Emory by being involved leaders in their schools, local chapters or through other Emory programs, and come to work with us at the EAA to serve as an advisory Board to our staff and to the university as a whole. Basically, we’re kind of a big deal. Yes, I did include myself in that by association. Deal with it. (Really I’m the one behind the scenes who plans the meeting and keeps things running smoothly).

We have three full day meetings a year and one meeting of just the committees, but the fall meeting is my favorite by far. It’s when I finally get to meet our new members in person and put my stalker-esque knowledge about them to work. I have a good memory and can recite out most of their class years, addresses, work places, etc. Really more than anyone should ever know, so I pretend it makes me better at my job and not creepy at all.

This past Friday, October 8, was our first meeting of the year and it was a great two days, if I do say so myself. We have six new members this year and we hosted them here at the Miller-Ward Alumni House (MWAH) for orientation on Thursday the 7th before heading over to the Emory Medal.

On Friday we kicked off the meeting with Breakfast with the Administrators, where all of the EAB met with their Dean or alumni relations staff from their school or unit. I sat with the Goizueta Business School for breakfast (I am an alum after all) with Dean Kazanjian. He told us about many current issues there and even though I work on campus and feel pretty knowledgeable about what’s happening, it was great to talk with him.

The rest of the day flew by. We had lunch with President Wagner, heard from Gary Hauk about his new book, Where Courageous Inquiry Leads, which was the Board gift for this year, and heard from EAA staff about our new strategic plan.

The day ended with a wine and cheese reception and I finally had some time to chat with EAB members, since the longest conversation I had with anyone all day was “We’re starting again. Can you please head back to your seat?”

I was exhausted afterwards, but pleased that everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. I didn’t make it to Bacchanal as I was supposed to, but sometimes a girl just needs to sleep.

I look forward to seeing everyone again for our meeting in December. Until then, check out a few pictures from the day.

--Kelley Quinn 08B, coordinator, Emory Alumni Board

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Allie is in South Korea ... heart and Seoul (third in a series)

Read part 5 ...

Read part 4 ...

Read part 2 ...

Read part 1 ...

Emory's largest percentage of international alumni live in Korea, thanks in part to Emory President Emeritus James Laney 94H, also a former ambassador to South Korea.

At my latest stop on multicity Asia trip, I was fortunate enough to meet more that 100 alumni in Seoul on Saturday evening, October 9, as we celebrated the naming of the James T. Laney Graduate School at Emory.

Seoul was a short flight from Tokyo at just under two hours. The first thing that I noticed upon landing at the airport was the thick, soupy smog that penetrated the air, almost like a dense cloud covering that lasted throughout the day. The city of Seoul was bustling with activity and preparation for the G20 Summit in November. I witnessed the planning first hand on Friday morning at my hotel, the first Western-style hotel built in Seoul and the host to many visiting dignitaries and foreign officials during the upcoming meeting of the nations. Check out my YouTube video about this.

While in the lobby on Friday morning, I noticed a lot of activity by officials with clipboards. A short time later, the lobby filled with smoke and the fire alarms sounded. The hotel was evacuated.

When I exited the hotel, it was surrounded by four fire trucks, multiple ambulances, and several military emergency response vehicles with weapons poised. I established a vantage spot across the street to watch the activities unfold--luckily it was just a drill. Sirens blared, pretend victims were rescued from the roof of the hotel while fake explosives were detonated, and smoke continued to fill the air. Seoul definitely takes the upcoming summit seriously and is prepared!

I met several of our local Seoul alumni chapter leaders for a traditional Korean dinner that evening. The meal was 10 courses long with my favorite dish being the jellyfish salad.

I am sure that you are wondering how jellyfish tastes. Honestly, it doesn't taste like much, is hard to eat with chopsticks and could easily be mistaken for pasta--except it is clear! Other courses included kimchi, tempura style shrimp, and a delicious fruit-punch-type drink for dessert.

My visit to South Korea may have been short, but was definitely eventful and I leave with the knowledge that our alumni in South Korea are full of pride and dedication to their alma mater, even halfway around the world!

-- Allie Hill, director, international alumni relations, EAA

Friday, October 8, 2010

And the curtain comes down (fourth ... and final ... in a series)

So I was going to write this post-show-wrap-everything-up blog entry days ago when the show actually ended … but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. To write this last post would be my way of admitting that it’s actually over. I thought that if I could delay it long enough I could extend the sense of joy, confidence, triumph, and love that I felt every night (or afternoon) the cast rocked out on stage.

First off thank you so much to everyone who came to see the show. Before each show in the dressing room I would make a point to ask the ladies if they had anyone special coming to see that performance. I saw it as a way for us to focus on giving it everything we’ve got because someone we love would be watching.

For those of you who were not familiar with the show I know that the plot was hard to follow. I didn’t even fully understand the show because I grew up listening to the soundtrack so it wasn’t until I saw it staged that everything fell into place. What I hope you did get out of it was an amazing musical experience full of heartfelt emotion. I know we as a cast were able to get across the major themes of fear, loss, support, growth and most importantly love.

By the time the show opened our musical director Bryan Mercer told us that he really felt that we believed in what we were singing. I think that had a lot to do with how well we all knew the music before we even started rehearsals, and then how close we became as a cast. It’s true for anyone who has ever been in a group like that, music ensemble, sports team, sorority or fraternity, school club. If you’re lucky those people become a big part of your life. I know that I appreciate having a few more familiar faces on campus.

So with that I guess I’m ready to sign off as the events coordinator in blogger's clothing. Thanks for reading!

-- Becky Herring 08C, events coordinator, Schwartz Center for Performing Arts

Thursday, October 7, 2010

And the home of the BRAVES

As the biggest Braves fan on the EAA staff, I get the honor of sending the Atlanta Braves into their first playoff game against the San Francisco Giants. You'll see from above that I'm a long-time fan. In fact, if anyone was wondering, the picture on the left was taken in 1995. Yes, that 1995 -- the 1995 when the Braves won the World Series.

I vividly remember sitting in front of the TV at my parents' house during the 1995 playoffs. I had already developed some superstitious tendencies. For example, I sat there with my styrofoam tomahawk and chopped my little heart out every time I heard the tune. Then, as I went to sleep, I hugged the tomahawk like most children would hug a teddy bear. When the Braves were declared World Series champions, I got a screenprinted black hoodie from a stand on the side of the road and wore it to school almost daily.

So, here's the thing about the Braves this season: they've let it come down to the wire in the majority of their games. That's why, when the disastrous events of September began, I wasn't all that concerned. The Braves have overcome more adversity than any other team this season, and I'm confident that they'll keep it up. It's kind of like when I played soccer as a child ... We managed to play better when we were down one player than when we had five on the bench.

In May, Forbes ranked Atlanta second on its list of "America's Most Miserable Sports Cities." However, a few short weeks later, the Braves began a 3+ month stint leading the NL East. Yeah, we made it interesting at the end, but that's the kind of team we are. I hope (from the bottom of my heart) that the Braves take the first step in making Mr. Forbes reconsider.

Let's celebrate Atlanta tonight. Go Braves!

-Drew Dotson, coordinator, communications, EAA

Allie is in Tokyo ... planes, trains, and automobiles (second in a series)

Read part 5 ...

Read part 4 ...

Read part 3 ...

Read part 1 ...

After a 14-hour plane ride from Atlanta, a train ride from Narita International Airport into the city and a 13-hour time difference, I’ve finally arrived in Tokyo!

I thought I would share some of my early impressions of visiting Japan. First of all, the people are incredibly friendly. Yes, there is definitely a language barrier, but a smile and a short bow of the head goes a long way!

So far, there hasn’t been anything that I haven’t been able to communicate, even through I don't know a single word of Japanese. I’ve been able to easily order in restaurants (by pointing), navigate the city, and even track down wrapping paper and tape for some gifts.

To me, Tokyo is its most beautiful at night, when the city is lit up with thousands of signs, flashing lights, and illuminated office buildings, with employees hard are work often to the late evening. I am staying in Shibuya, the Tokyo Times Square area, which is centrally located so there are plenty of lights and signs all around.

Navigating my way from the airport to my hotel and around the city has been pretty easy – most signs that a tourist would need to read are written in both Japanese and English. There are comforts of home right outside of my hotel – a Krispy Kreme and a Starbucks! Both are extremely popular and crowded at all hours of the day and evening.

The Krispy Kreme is even two stories tall with booths and tables for enjoying the sugary goodness. I peaked in the window to see if I could notice any differences from our Krispy Kremes at home and couldn’t spot anything majorly different. If the bags and bags of donuts that I saw heading out the door are any indication, they must taste the same as they do at home.

One obvious difference that I have noticed is the smaller size and portions of food then we are used to at home. This was especially apparent at the Starbucks, where the average-size drink is equivalent to a kid's-meal-sized drink back in the US.

One of my other favorite things to do in a new city is to visit a grocery store. You can learn a lot about a location by just visiting something as simple as where they do their shopping. The most striking difference happened to be the price of fruits and vegetables. Bananas were sold individually and were the equivalent of $2 each. Grapes were selling for $15 a bunch and cantaloupes were more than $20 each.

Yesterday evening, I hosted the first of our Asia receptions. We had a great turnout of 15 alumni, parents, and spouses. The group was very gracious and appreciated the opportunity to get to know other Emory alumni in Tokyo and to hear about what was happening back on campus.

All agreed that they wanted to continue to meet on a more regular occasion. After only two days in Japan, I am about to board a plane for South Korea to prepare for our large alumni event on October 9. Thank you Japan and the Emory alumni in Tokyo for a short but sweet visit!

-- Allie Hill, director, international alumni relations, EAA

Friday, October 1, 2010

Opening night (third in a series)

Read part 2...

Read part 1...

Ok, so opening night literally ended 30 minutes ago, and after saying “hello” and “thank you” to my wonderful friends who came out, I rushed over to El Azteca on Ponce so I could scarf down a number six combo and write this blog.

Let me ‘splain.

So ever since I started performing I have this thing where I get so nauseated before a performance I can’t eat (sorry, I know that's a bit too much information)…so needless to say I’m STARVING!

Ok, ok, enough of that…how was the show you ask?

It was incredible!

Everything clicked once we put it all on the line for a sold-out crowd. There are definitely some long-standing pitfalls of the opening night performance. The adrenaline causes tempo to push, diction to falter, and the worst, voices to blow out. Don’t get me wrong. It’s all done with good intentions for a rockin’ show, but I’m happy to report that none of that happened tonight. Thanks to our extensive preparation, we were actually able to ride our residual confidence all the way to the last bow.

And what a great crowd! They laughed when it was appropriate, clapped when it was appropriate (or even better didn’t clap when it wasn’t, many a heartfelt moment has been ruined by the overzealous clappers out there). There was such a mutual communication of joy and love, we sent it to them, and they gave it right back to us.

And speaking of the musical theater “splash zone” that I wrote about in my last blog, who did my eyes go directly to in the second row as I danced out on stage? Former Emory College dean and well-known arts supporter Bobby Paul! The overwhelming support of the Emory community is just one of the elements that makes the whole experience so worthwhile.

Am I sad that opening night went by so quickly? Absolutely.

Am I psyched that there are three shows left, two of which I know are sold-out (tickets for Sunday’s 2 p.m. show are still available)?

Absolutely.

-- Becky Herring 08C, events coordinator, Schwartz Center for Performing Arts

The town

More than 2,000 Emory alumni live in New England, the majority of those in or near Boston. So, it made good sense for the Emory Alumni Association (EAA) to kick off its Destinations speaker series in the capital of Massachusetts, Thursday, September 30.

Paired with it was an orientation session for Emory's Alumni Interviewing Program, which expands to Boston (and Tampa Bay) this academic year.

About two dozen alumni sat in on the session to learn about their role in helping chose the next generation of Emory alumni, and more than half of them stuck around for Destinations: Boston, featuring President Jim Wagner. In all, more than 70 attended the event, one of the city's largest Emory gatherings ever.

The core of Wagner's presentation was to answer the question, "Why We Need Universities More than Ever." The short answer, which he laid out early in the 25-minute talk, is that universities prepare people for citizenship. He expanded on that thought in his conclusion, weaving in the importance of values.

"We need health professionals who are focused not just on curing disease, but curing people who have disease," Wagner said. "We need lawyers, who--beyond having a facility for the finer points of law--have a commitment to preserve the thin veneer of civilization. We need captains of business, who--in creating wealth--do so as much for the benefit of society as for personal gain."

"We need politicians with the moral courage and the wisdom to do for us what we need rather than simply pander to us and tell us what we think we want to they can continue to be re-elected," he continued. "We need genius of artists to tell us how to communicate in ways beyond words. We need the insights of scholars, we need people with imagination to give birth to new ideas.

This is the high calling of universities. This is what I think Emory is striving to achieve."

It was a spectacular way to end the evening. And also to begin the series.

-- Eric Rangus, director of communications, EAA