Keeping in touch with Liberty

Students have many ways to stay connected with the school after graduation

After commencement, graduates enter a new and exciting stage of life. Unfortunately, many alumni lose contact with their alma mater and fail to take advantage of the many resources available through their school’s alumni department.

Liberty University offers lifelong support for their graduates in order to ensure that they are most successful in their lives, careers and witness for Christ.

“Once you finish at Liberty, things are different,” Director of Alumni Relations Tyler Falwell said.

“Departments change and the contacts you used to have are no longer there. The Alumni Relations office is the liaison, or the gap-filler, for all Liberty needs after graduation.”

Falwell said Liberty’s Alumni Relations office helps students stay up-to-date with the university by sending newsletters and event flyers, as well as frequently updating the alumni Web page.

Additionally, the office staff works to regularly contact each graduate by phone and email.

“It’s our job to carry that relationship forward,” Falwell said.

“It needs to be where we’ve hopefully built up enough relationships and helped enough people to where they feel comfortable enough to call on us for just a general question.”

Aside from academic assistance, Falwell also said the office is available to help alumni on a more personal level.

“With the number of alumni we have, I can assure you that we’re going to have some people in your neighborhoods,” Falwell said.

“As a department, we can help bring you together and eliminate that post-graduation feeling of loneliness.”

Falwell said that in order to take advantage of these opportunities, alumni must make a purposeful effort to stay connected with Liberty.

The school encourages its graduates to volunteer on campus, attend alumni events and support the Flames at local sporting activities.

They also have the option to financially give back to the school by sponsoring a student in the scholarship program, donating to campus projects or personally helping new graduates.

“In the years following graduation, many alumni choose to give back by helping current students or new graduates,” Career Center Assistant Director Kathleen Welch said.

“We motivate them to post jobs on Liberty’s job network or advertise their company in the Virtual Career Fair.”

Welch said the Career Center team is also available to help long-time alumni who are considering new job options.

“In anyone’s career life there comes a time where you want to do career transition because you’ve gone as far as you can with a company, want a new job opportunity or your company gets downsized,” Welch said.

“The Career Center is an office of people with different backgrounds who can make a proactive strategy for alumni both remotely and in-person.”

Falwell suggests that students immediately get involved with Liberty’s alumni programs following commencement.

He adds that long-time graduates should never feel separated from the help of the school.

“We should all be guided by God, faith and others,” Falwell said. “We shouldn’t do anything apart from a good support system.”

Overall, Liberty’s mission is to create advocates for the university and ensure that the tradition of “Training Champions for Christ” continues through its alumni.

“My hope for the graduates is that they continue to live the lives that would make God proud, Liberty proud, their families proud and that they find success through that,” Falwell said.

“Not through titles or achievements, but that they continue to be the example of who Liberty represents.”

Falwell encourages graduates to get deeply involved in their new careers, passionately serving their neighbors and co-workers and be a light for Christ.

“A lot of students see commencement as the end,” Falwell said. “In reality, it’s the beginning, and there truly is no end because you are once and always part of the Liberty family.”

RUTT is the asst.news editor