Following an announcement by the Duke Alumni Association, graduate and professional school alums will now have something different to look forward to this May.
The DAA initiated plans last week to host its first graduation party for graduate and professional students in order to develop a sense of community among students and alumni.
The party, which will be held May 4, was approved after the DAA spent a year evaluating student programming and is based on a recommendation by a board of directors subcommittee focused on graduate and professional students.
"We realized how much we do for [undergraduate] seniors, especially right before they leave... [and we realized] that we don't do any programming for the graduate and professional students," Kim Hanauer, Trinity '02 and director of young alumni and student programs, wrote in an e-mail.
The DAA typically hosts a similar party for undergraduate students each year, giving seniors the opportunity to rub shoulders with alumni.
Hanauer said the new party is a way to offer graduate and professional students a similar outlet. "We hope to bring the graduate and professional students together to celebrate the 'big D' and remind them that they are not just graduates of their individual school but that they [are] all considered Duke alumni," he said.
Last week, the DAA met with the presidents of each graduate and professional school. Now, Hanauer said she will be working with a committee of students, encouraging them to drive the planning process for their own event.
Audrey Ellerbee, a fifth-year graduate student in biomedical engineering and president of the Graduate and Professional Student Council, wrote in an e-mail that she appreciated the DAA consulting student body presidents and is pleased to see the relationship between GPSC and the DAA continue to develop. "We are a rapidly growing part of their alumni base, so it makes sense to try to tailor more activities to our constituency," Ellerbee said.
Ellerbee said she hopes to see a large turnout in May and emphasized that invitations are extended to students of every graduate and professional school.
Ben Kennedy, Trinity '00, a second-year student at the Fuqua School of Business and president of the Duke MBA Association said broad participation by students will be necessary.
"The graduation party has a lot of potential for success, but will require effort from all of the graduate and professional schools to make it work," Kennedy wrote in an e-mail. "Many of the graduate and professional schools do not often socialize together; this event must overcome this trend in order to succeed."
Hanauer said high alumni attendance is likely, as the date will coincide with the DAA's board of directors meeting.
The future of the event will depend on the outcome of this year's party, Kennedy said.
"If we can secure high levels of participation from a number of schools, then we can start thinking about making this a memorable tradition," he said.
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