Celebrating NAF Alumni Month 2022: A Recap

Susan Climan

12/21/2022

Our alumni are the backbone of our organization. Once a student graduates from a NAF academy, they remain connected to a vast network of dedicated and passionate individuals, who come together to uplift, support, and recognize each other’s successes. This November, NAF celebrated our talented and esteemed alumni, by offering engaging and informative virtual professional development sessions and hosting exciting in-person networking receptions in various cities, for Alumni Month. Read on for a snapshot of how we were able to gather together and honor our alumni this Fall.

Webinars:

Why Be an Engaged Alum? Click Here for Recording.

ALC members, Raymundo Lopez ’15 and Jennifer Montgomery ’08, and NAF Staff Member, Mel Sacca ’12, spoke about their involvement with the NAF Alumni Network after high school, various ways that you can stay connected to NAF at both the local and national levels, and the many benefits of doing so. Sydney Millerd ’16 also filmed a video sharing her experience for the session.

Post-Election Briefing & Advocacy Training Click Here for Recording.

NAF’s Policy team hosted a virtual webinar to discuss the results of the 2022 Midterm Elections and provided a training for NAF alumni interested in learning how to help shape public policy through advocacy.

Everything You Wanted to Know About Grad School but Were Afraid to Ask! Click Here for Recording.

This virtual session shared more about how attending grad school can help your career, what the application process is really like, and how to pay for it. ALC Vice Chair, Lauren Budzich ’15 (Commercial Strategy at Johnson & Johnson and current master’s student at UPenn) led the conversation with Bryan D. Adams, Director of the Marketing Communications Leadership Graduate Program, at Nazareth College.

In-Person Networking Receptions:

NAF NYC Presented ‘Reuniting & Reconnecting – Celebrating Our Legacy’ -A Fundraising & Friendraising event,with NAF students, alumni, advisory board members, and corporate partners. NAF Alumna, Mariola Suchorzepka, Richmond Hill High School Class of 2008, received the Give Back Alumni Award!

Washington DC Networking Reception at THRoW Social, hosted by Diamond Hunter ‘18, Cayla Lewis ‘19, and Zoe Roberts ‘18.

Northport High School Breakfast, that included the participation of 35 alumni for a breakfast round table/networking event for nearly 200 students in Northport, NY.

Maryland Networking Reception at Busboys & Poets in Hyattsville, hosted by Candace dePass ‘06.

Miami Networking Reception at Toro Toro hosted by Erich de la Fuente ’89 and Gerardo Carranza ’13.

NAF also featured our alumni through captivating graphics that illustrated how they — Named Their Future and Made It Happen — to tie into our current campaign. Check out the beautiful posters on Instagram!

We were pleased to spend this November celebrating and connecting with our alumni. We heard directly from so many of you, but we are extending the offer to let your voice be heard. Fill out the 10-15 minute survey and share it widely with other NAF Alumni you may know. Complete this survey and you’ll be entered to win one of 60 Visa gift cards, of varying amounts. As a token of our appreciation, we’ll also provide you with a 20% discount code to the NAF store immediately after completing the survey.

Thank YOU for making NAF’s Alumni Month a huge success!

View Bio

Susan Climan is the Manager, Alumni Engagement at NAF and has been with the organization since April 2021. In this role, she works to cultivate relationships with alumni, current students, the Alumni Leadership Council, academy leads/educators and corporate partners to build an active alumni network. In addition, Susan manages the Alumni Mentorship Program and oversees the Alumni Database. Susan holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston University and has over 15 years of experience working in Alumni/Education Programming and Event Management.