UMW’s Regional Alumni Networks Create Connections Across the Country
Jessica Mitchell Essalih ’05 jumped at the chance to lead the University of Mary Washington’s Texas Regional Alumni Network when she relocated from New York City to Austin.
“It’s remarkable, even for a few hours, to be surrounded by people who value UMW’s Honor Code, a liberal arts education and a Carl’s milkshake,” said Essalih, who met and married fellow alum Tony Essalih ’99, who was living in Houston. The couple have hosted events to help alumni across the Lone Star State stay connected to their alma mater and each other. “There’s never a lull in the conversation when you bring up Mary Washington,” she added. “It’s such a special place.”
She’s one of many alumni volunteers who manage Mary Washington’s nearly two dozen networks nationwide. Network leaders help UMW’s Office of Alumni Engagement plan baseball games and brunches, painting parties and picnics, and happy hours and hikes in their home cities – as well as university updates with President Troy Paino and wife Kelly – gathering groups of graduates who once called Mary Washington home.
This fall features a Boston/New England Network gathering Oct. 8 at Trillium Brewing in Canton, Massachusetts. The Richmond (Virginia) Network will host a happy hour and service project for an animal shelter Oct. 8 at Triple Crossing’s Fulton brewery. The Washington, D.C./Northern Virginia Network will host an event at Continues Arcade in Alexandria Oct. 15. President Paino will also visit locations throughout Virginia in the winter and spring. View the UMW Alumni event calendar to learn about upcoming dates.
“These events are opportunities to meet people with a shared foundation, expand personal and professional connections in a new city and make an unfamiliar place feel more welcoming,” said Lori Foster Turley ’81, an Alumni Association Board of Directors member and Regional Alumni Networks vice president. “Most importantly, they help alumni continue building community long after graduation, keeping Mary Washington close no matter where life takes them.” Learn more about UMW’s Regional Alumni Networks.
Leave a Reply