Tulane Alumni Lovebirds

This New York Times, which is the veritable bible of weddings and celebrations, recently listed a couple who apparently met at Tulane graduate school and just tied the knot in New Orleans. It caught my eye, because they both attended the public health and Latin American studies graduate programs respectively: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/24/fashion/weddings/24Bergson.html?ref=weddings

Speaking of tying the knot, the vendor/creator: www.thegartergirl.com named a green and white garter belt after Tulane University, which I think is quite pretty:


Do you have a romantic story from Tulane? If so, I'd like to hear from you :) Perhaps you are an alum that got married on campus too, and would share your pictures on this blog too! 

Across the Country: Reunions with Groups of Tulane alumni friends

So over the years, my Tulane alumni friends, having such strong bonds with each other, have had various reunions. Our first was back in 2005 in Philadelphia, and we watched New Year's Eve fireworks, sipped home-brewed beer, and basically were merry:

The following year, our Tulane alumni crew had another reunion, but this time in Miami. In 2007, I joined several friends from the Class of 2004 in a beautiful, uptown house that was rented, including Vicki V and Lauren W.

Last year, I was invited to attend a wedding on a vineyard in Oklahoma City by Eric M. (Engineering, Class of 03), which brought many of my friends together, but alas I could not make it. The next upcoming reunion place in the works is Sonoma.

Sarah W. (B-school, Class of 05) just had reunions in Austin, TX and Washington DC with her Tulane alumni friends. She attends more Tulane alumni weddings than anyone else I know! Together in 2009, we went to a Tulane alumna's wedding in Dallas, which had several class years represented, and it was also a blast.

Does anyone have any friend reunion stories they would like to share? Where did you go? What did you all end up doing? My 10 reunion comes up in another 2 years on campus: I will definitely not miss this opportunity, because I was working a faculty conference and was so disappointed to have missed my 5 year one (alas).

St. Patrick's Day: Green and White Pride & Job Search Support

I love St. Pattys Day, because it dually enables me to show my Tulane alumni pride and wear head to toe green and white. This St. Patty's Day, my Tulane alumna friend Lori H. (TU, Class of 2005) and I went to the parade in Southie (neighborhood in Boston) and to some parties. Wearing my school colors enabled me to reflect on my job search support offered by Tulane alumni and the career center over the years.

Circa 2002, Tulane had a database listing interesting alumni working in the career fields I was interested in. Back then, I remember getting a list with someone who was a professional quiz show writer and several Tulane alumni working in business publishing.

Circa 2007, a former Tulane Alumni Club President of New York City, Rob T, referred me over to the  Fund for American Studies, whose Executive Vice President is a Tulane alum from 1987 in economics. Although they offered me an interview, I had already accepted another offer. But the above is a great example of Tulane alumni helping their fellow alumni.

Recently, I called up the Tulane career center in a panic and talked to Bob who specifically helps alumni. He listened to my panicking, and sent me access to a job search database that Tulane pays a $4,000 annual subscription for. Bob has been working at Tulane for 5 years, and has worked abroad in Belgium, France, and China, and assured me that moving to work abroad is feasible. Bob has also met with Tulane alumni club presidents in NYC and Chicago recently to build up an alumni mentorship program, and assured me they would be great help.

Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras Recap

One of the nicest things about being affiliated with Tulane is getting together with your TU alumni friends in your respective city and celebrating Mardi Gras. Last night in Boston on Fat Tuesday, a bunch of my Tulane alumni friends, Brian W., Lori H., and I (all adorned with beads and masks) got together to listen to live jazz music, wave our napkins around in a second line, and eat dishes like red beans and rice.

A Tulane campus tree adorned with Mardi Gras beads. (Circa January 2011) 

We were told by an NYU alumna pal who we welcomed in with us that she wished that her school had the same sense of alumni community and pride.

At last night's dinner, I was introduced to several former TU engineering students who are brilliant and now have their doctorates in chemical and biomedical specialties. When you meet someone thousands of miles away from your alma mater, it is wonderful to share that immediate connection. It was uplifting and inspiring to spend time in the company of friends who loved their Tulane experience as much as I did.

Not to brag, but...

Okay, so not to brag, but Tulane pride stems from a lot of different factors, including its affiliated alumni and professors. It is an amazingly unique educational setting (ah-hem, notably designated as a "College with a Conscience" and for having the "Happiest Students" by the Princeton Review). Forbes high-ranked Tulane for its affordability and productivity. Tulane University grooms and inspires its graduates to make a positive, societal impact later on in life!

First, Tulane is the former stomping ground of alum David Filo, who co-founded yahoo. (Sidenote: to support my fellow TU alum, I always use yahoo as my search engine of choice). As a loyal, proud alum, technological whiz Mr. D. Filo donated $30 million dollars to Tulane. Niiiice!

Another Tulane alumna worth mentioning is the lovely Erica Trani, who opened up an impressive Tulane campus store that only sells free trade products. The name of her socially conscious and responsible store is InExchange. After visiting, I was wowed by its international goods that help artisians, craftswomen and craftsmen from around the globe and Nola locally:

Another Tulane graduate and hero of mine whose creativity blossomed from her studies at TU is Mignon Faget, whose classy jewelery is one of a kind. Ms. Mignon has the same sorority affiliation as me, and was a previous Homecoming Queen.

Gorgeous lily design of Mignon Faget (BFA 1956). She also has designed the Newcomb class ring (below):

Alumna Mignon Faget continues on creatively designing Nola charm bracelets, as in the above.

Tulane's faculty members are also humble, but so well-accomplished. In my time there, I was always impressed by their knowledge. Current professor Nick Spitzer is the host/creator of the American Routes program on National Public Radio (NPR).

Rocking the Tulane gear

Guess what? Tulane actually offers St. Patty's Day gear, which essentially provides the marriage of fun holiday with school spirit! Good job, my beloved alma mater! I'll be sportin' a TU clover here in Southie,

(See, we don't need the extra fourth leaf, because we're already lucky Tulane alumni!)

Man oh man, did I ever tell you how much I love the Tulane bookstore? They always have great school designs and insignia on their school spirit clothing! I always make it a point to go here to stock up on goods (read: green and white gear) whenever I revisit Nola. I mean, I'd have a whole drawer filled to the brim with adorable TU gear (since there's so much to chose from) if I could, but that would be a bit excessive.

See our awesomely angry wave mascot. We're so fierce!

Seriously, I can't get enough of said angry wave mascot! It never gets old! Let me buy this hat!

Last but not least, this would be my dream, soft Tulane sweatshirt that appears oh so fashionable. Looks like the perfect bday gift to self!

I also liked how the Tulane bookstore always carried books authored by its professors in the front of the store. Way to support your faculty members! :) My dream one day (if this blog grows) is to have this blog turned into a "I Heart Tulane" book published by Tulane press and sold in the bookstore (of course) to students, staff, and faculty no less.

Sharing My Positive Experiences with Prospective TU Students

Picture this: an 100 plus person audience consisting of prospective and accepted Tulane students and their parents.

Imagine this: a somewhat shy me at the front of the room who would rather hide behind the written word. Somehow I managed to publically speak about my positive Tulane experiences and (I think?) actually make coherent sense. It took shaking, sweaty palms, and a handful of panicky, written out notecards.

See above, going "out on a Tulane limb" tree branch here, because I had several positive, first-hand experiences to share with Tulane perspectives.

Actually, in the name of alma mater pride, I've swallowed my public speaking fears twice and somehow managed to engage in helpful outreach to these youths. In doing so, I (alongside my fellow alumni panelists) have harbored hopes of convincing these prospective students to go to a school we loved for undergrad. Many thanks to the encouragement of my good friend, Sarah W. who bleeds green and white and might be the biggest Tulane fan I know. She is a Tulane B-school graduate, Class of 2005, as well as a TU L.A. alumni club leader). Sarah W. somehow has convinced me to be an integral part of this L.A. based, Tulane alumni panel, when the springtime rolled around.

In the end, I felt triumphant and happy that I could share something I felt so passionate about: my sincere love for Tulane. I even got more into my groove when afterwards, I got really specific questions from prospective Tulane students and was answering them like a pro. (Me: "oh so you like art? Tulane offers photography and glassblowing classes, and has a wicked nice Newcomb art gallery!)

See above: Woldenberg Hall, which houses beautiful Newcomb pottery and has featured some kick-ass art exhibits by its students. It also was the location of a multicultural student welcome mixer during orientation of my freshman year.

Talking to persuade interested, accepted students to go to Tulane and have cutesy, fun experiences like the above.