It’s a misconception that alumni do not feel a sense of connection to a two-year college. When Michelle Schleibaum became Director of Alumni Engagement at Westchester Community College in 2018, she quickly realized “it’s quite the opposite.”

She says, “The stories that I hear from alumni are that they wouldn’t have had the opportunity to go to college if it hadn’t been for us. And so that makes the time that they spent at WCC more meaningful.”

At the Valhalla, New York, U.S., college, more than 30% of students are over the age of 22, and about 65% are part-time students. Many students have family responsibilities and are working outside of school. 

“One of the challenges is finding where those openings are to make pathways available to them so that they understand who we are and what we can provide to them after they graduate,” says Schleibaum. “What we found is that the alumni wanted something that was giving back to them and benefiting their lives.” 

While some baseline alumni programs existed before her arrival, Schleibaum has reestablished the WCC Alumni Association brand to better align with the college, launched a regular monthly e-newsletter and a semiannual printed one, and implemented new alumni events, testing to see what best appeals to alumni. Here’s what’s been successful at WCC.