Fort Lewis College Annual Reports Fall & Winter Issue 2013 | Page 12

JC Perteet Social Media and The College The number of people using social media to connect with their friends, family and even their alma mater, is rapidly increasing. Here at Fort Lewis College, our social media contact with alumni since I started 7 months ago has grown over 600% in reach and we now have almost 4,600 contacts who are interacting with our platforms of Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter. Social media can be a cost-effective way to communicate with our alumni rapidly about a wide variety of issues in a very timely manner, and is more flexible than mainstream media. In the past, Fort Lewis College has only engaged in direct marketing such as direct mail, email marketing, alumni magazines, and annual reports to accomplish this goal. Now, with the introduction of social media we can add a new level of engagement with our alumni by reaching out to them, by engaging them in conversation, by building and fostering relationships with them, and becoming a daily presence in their lives. I have found Fort Lewis College alumni to be eager and hungry to engage with us on social media. Alumni responses to stories ranging from nostalgia about their time here, to photos around campus, to heralding the latest successes of the College have been delightful. One story in particular that really resonated with our alumni was about the retirement of Dr. Duane Smith. Our alumni had such wonderful things to say about their experience with him as a professor. That conversation online created a deeper connection for Fort Lewis College and them via social media. It has also been one of our most successful conversations to date on Facebook. Our social media has made it possible for Fort Lewis College to discover what alumni really care about and to invite them to be ready participants in an ongoing conversation. Strengthening our alumni ties to Fort Lewis College has been one of Alumni Relations core goals, and it seems to be working with social media. Our online communities are growing daily. We hope to see all of you on our social media platforms, and join in the conversation! 11 T ways, and we are moving ahead with enhanced electronic communication, developing social media groups, and pursuing virtual alumni events for career development and networking. One of our greatest challenges is to communicate effectively with Fort Lewis College alumni across the entire age and interest spectrum, and your ideas in this effort would be greatly appreciated. INTERACTIVE: CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION’S FACEBOOK PAGE Update from Alumni Relations David Kerns F We are hosting events for our alumni that are focused on their specific affinity groups at Fort Lewis College, and are continuing to grow the traditions that former students remember from their time here. We recently celebrated Homecoming 2013 with a record number of alumni participants at our events. A full slate of alumni events, networking opportunities, and gatherings is planned for 2014. Events to introduce new graduates to the community are in the works for this spring, giving our alumni opportunities to connect with them for networking and mentoring. I hope that you will connect with us as our alumni network continues to grow. Our online communities have grown by a factor of ten in the past eight months, and we expect that to continue. Your thoughts and guidance about how we can best serve you as a graduate of Fort Lewis College are both welcomed and appreciated. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve you as the Director of Alumni Relations & Annual Fund, and look forward to hearing from you! LC Alumni Moving Forward: We are so lucky to have the Fort Lewis College Alumni family growing with each graduating class. FLC is hosting a banner year of student attendance in 2013, and with our campus-wide Finish-in-Four program to aid in student retention and success, our alumni base is sure to grow exponentially. The December Commencement activities are only six weeks away, and I hope you can join us to congratulate our newest alumni! Alumni Relati ons is in the midst of a transition. As our alumni base continues to trend younger, we are in a position of needing to adapt to our former students’ needs. Our graduates have asked for us to communicate with them in new Dave Kerns Director of Alumni Relations & Annual Fund Fort Lewis College Office: 970.247.7427 [email protected] Gather Here. Go Further. Update from Athletics Sarah Meier he Fort Lewis College football program is enjoying success this year after earning four wins this season with two more regular season games remaining. The last time the Skyhawks won at least four games in a season was in 2006 when they went 7-4 under then head coach and current defensive coordinator Ed Rifilato. The Skyhawks are coming off one of their most significant wins in recent history after defeating Adams State University, 27-24 in the annual Musket game. The last time FLC defeated the Grizzlies in the Musket Game was at ASU in 2010. The last time the Skyhawks won the Musket Game at home was in 1996. Just to the west of Ray Dennison Memorial Field, the Fort Lewis College soccer programs are experiencing multiple achievements on Dirks Field. The women’s program is currently ranked second in the South Central Region and are gearing for their fourth NCAA Tournament Appearance in five years. Junior forward Sam Weiss was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Year and senior defender Lauren Riley was named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Year. A total of five Skyhawks earned all-conference accolades this season. In men’s soccer, the Skyhawks are making a late run in the season. FLC has scored more goals this season than any other team in the conference. The Skyhawks, who are the fifth seed in the RMAC Tournament, registered an upset win in the first round and will be vying for the RMAC Tournament Championship trophy. Four studentathletes were named to the All-RMAC team, while freshman Tamino Kroeger was recently named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division II Player of the Week. Kroeger earned the honor after scoring six goals in two games. On the court, the Fort Lewis College volleyball team is currently sitting in eighth place in the RMAC standings with two weekends of regular season remaining. The Skyhawks are 4-2 at home where they earned two upset wins over Metro State and Colorado Mesa. The Skyhawks cross country programs will be competing in the NCAA South Central Regional meet in Canyon, Texas. Both teams finished seventh overall at the RMAC Championships in Silver City, N.M. The top six teams in the women’s 6K race and the men’s 10K race that finish advance to the NCAA Championship Meet Nov. 23 in Spokane, Wash. The men’s golf team competed in four events in the fall, including the RMAC/Event #1 that they hosted at Hillcrest Golf Course. The Skyhawk’s best finish of the fall came from their first tournament of the season. FLC posted an 892 at the Ryan Palmer Foundation Invitational in Canyon, Texas. Academic honors rolled in for the Skyhawks this fall. Twenty-four student-athletes from the sports of men’s soccer, women’s soccer, football and volleyball received RMAC All-Academic honors. Women’s Soccer boasted 14 RMAC All-Academic honorees, the most of any women’s soccer team in the RMAC. Maik Brandt and Alberto Capdepon also garnered Academic All-District honors. Fort Lewis College returned home from North Carolina with their eighth straight and 18th overall Mountain Bike team omnium title. The Skyhawks edged second place Marian University by 74 points. The championship hinged on Sunday’s final event – the dual slalom. The Skyhawks women’s team won their race and the men’s team earned bronze. Highlights for the Skyhawks in the championship included gold in the women’s downhill, silver in the women’s short track, silver and bronze in the women’s cross country, silver in the men’s downhill, and silver in the team relay. Visit www.goskyhawks.com, like them on Facebook at facebook.com/flcathletics or follow them on Twitter@FLCSkyhawk, instagram. com/flcskyhawks, and YouTube (FLCAthletics).