Southeast Alumni Association holds monthly event

The Southeast Alumni Association hosts monthly networking events to keep alumni up to date with what is going on at the university.

Café Napoli was filled with Southeast Missouri State University alumni that met to network and mingle on March 14 in St. Louis.

"A lot of what the Alumni Association does is create an environment where the alumni know that the relationship with the university doesn't have to end when you graduate, once you are a Redhawk you are a Red hawk forever," Jay Wolz, director of Alumni Relations said.

Mark Mullins graduated from Southeast in 1978 with a degree in business. He is the youngest of four siblings who all attended and graduated from Southeast. While attending the university, Mullins met his wife Loretta Mullins. He is now a serial entrepreneur and an author. His older sister Judy Lamb graduated from Southeast in 1967 and convinced him to start attending alumni events in 2012.

"It's a chance to connect with university minded people," Mullins said. "I have seen some old friends that I lost complete contact with that I haven't heard from since we graduated, so I haven't seen these people in 34 years."

There are 20,000 alumni in St. Louis, which is almost one third of the alumni database. Other chapters are located in Chicago, Dallas, Japan, Jefferson County, Mo., Kansas City, Mo., Memphis, mid-Missouri, Republic of Panama, St. Francois County, Mo., and Ste. Genevieve County, Mo.

Bill Holland has been the Vice President of Advancement for four years, but has worked for university for seven years. He started the process of having these networking events for Southeast graduates every month seven years ago while he was the director of Corporate Relations for the university. He has attended most of the alumni events in St. Louis and said that it is a mix of old and new between the alumni.

"We have some people that have become real regulars who come every month, " Holland said. "Some people can't, but that's ok. Old alum like to know what younger alum are doing, and younger alum like to find those successful people."