We Want You!
From recruiting top students to planning events, every year, thousands of alumni around the world donate their time and talent to Johns Hopkins. As volunteers serving the university community, their work builds alumni ties and supports students—and plays a critical role in sustaining and strengthening the Johns Hopkins mission. And volunteers get more than a warm, fuzzy feeling from their good deeds. According to a recent study led by researchers at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, volunteer service improves cognitive ability and enhances quality of life.
This at-a-glance guide highlights many (but certainly not all) volunteer opportunities for alumni and friends. Match your skills and interests with the perfect opportunity and get involved!
Connect your class
What: Pull off your class’s next Reunion or Homecoming celebration by helping plan events and rallying classmates to show up. (Opportunities vary based on your school, degree, and graduation year.)
Why: Facebook is good for keeping in touch, but virtual connections can’t beat face-to-face interaction. You can help your class relive memories where they were made.
How: Contact Pat Conklin in the Office of Alumni Relations at 410-516-5185 or reunion@jhu.edu
Strengthen professional bonds
What: Connect with alumni in your field by joining a group dedicated to your interests, such as the Public Safety Leadership Association within the School of Education or the Society of Engineering Alumni at the Whiting School.
Why: Alumni know as well as anyone what kind of [insert your job title] comes out of Johns Hopkins. Network with the best!
How: Contact the alumni relations officer at your school of graduation through alumni.jhu.edu/schoolscenters.
Recruit the brightest
What: Assist admissions counselors as they build incoming classes made up of the world’s top students. Volunteers conduct interviews and represent Johns Hopkins at college fairs with the National Alumni Schools Committee, the group of Krieger and Whiting school graduates who assist the Undergraduate Office of Admissions. For graduate admissions, volunteers are needed on a school-by-school basis—for example, referring qualified students to the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies or speaking with prospective students at information sessions for the Carey Business School.
Why: You can help Johns Hopkins recruit top students, helping retain the university’s high academic standards.
How: Contact Amy Brokl at 410-516-4882 or amy.brokl@jhu.edu.
Link up locally
What: Help your local Alumni Association chapter or club plan events that bring together Johns Hopkins people in your area.
Why: Johns Hopkins alumni are smart, interesting people who are thirsty for knowledge—and they’re fun to hang out with. (We never claimed to be modest.)
How: Contact your chapter president through alumni.jhu.edu/chapters.
Hang out with a student
What: Invite a future alum out for dinner, to a ballgame, or to join you for most any activity in the Baltimore area. The Alumni Association’s TASTE program (short for “Take A Student To an Event”) will pair you and a student for a one-time outing of your choosing, allowing you the freedom to connect through an activity that is convenient and interesting to you.
Why: As a graduate, you have wisdom to share with a current student deep in the books. (And the student just might have something to teach you, too!)
How: Find out more at alumni.jhu.edu/taste.
Sign up by contacting Justin Fincher at 410-516-0363 or justin@jhu.edu.
Mentor in your field
What: Work with the Career Center or a school’s programming office to help launch students into the job market by sharing knowledge about your profession. Opportunities exist across the institution, such as participating in the School of Medicine’s “Connect the Docs” program; speaking to future nurses at an educational workshop sponsored by the School of Nursing; or networking with students and young alumni from the Bloomberg School of Public Health as a member of an “Access to Experts” panel.
Why: Your experience can help a student choose and prepare for a career. And you might meet a future star in your field, with a trusted educational pedigree.
How: Contact your divisional career center at alumni.jhu.edu/careerresources.
Be a leader
What: Across the university, about 1,300 of our most passionate alumni, friends, parents, and students serve on advisory councils and governing boards charged with ensuring the institutions’ vitality.
Why: From consulting with deans and directors on strategic direction, to leading fundraising efforts, to electing the university president (a task recently completed by the university board of trustees), the work of these boards began at the university’s founding and continues today.
How: Members are selected for their expertise in a particular industry or field, as well as their demonstrated commitment to Johns Hopkins. Anyone can nominate a graduate to serve on the Alumni Council—visit alumni.jhu.edu/alumnicouncil.
Illustrations by Brucie Rosch