LETTER FROM THE ALUMNI PRESIDENT
FOREVER YOUNG
Good news , Tritons : We ’ re getting younger .
No , it ’ s not a youth serum discovery from a bio lab . It ’ s the fact that out of the nearly 200,000 UC San Diego alumni worldwide , 38 percent of those Tritons will have graduated within the last decade . How is this possible ? It comes from our university ’ s exponential growth — from the first class of just 77 graduates five decades ago , to the 7,499 new alumni added in June . That ’ s a staggering increase , and as our ranks grow every year , so does our capacity to make a continual and lasting impact .
Maybe you can tell I ’ m a numbers guy . As I enter into the role of president of UC San Diego Alumni , I can see that as our population will continue to increase , our engagement and participation needs to keep pace — we need to connect with each other and engage with our campus so that in addition to getting younger , our network gets stronger as well .
The good news is that there are many ways to make that happen . It starts with the 21 UC San Diego Alumni regional clubs located around the world — vibrant communities of Tritons who come together to socialize , network , learn and give back to their local communities through service . Just take a look at the options , and you ’ ll find plenty that appeal to your intellect , your creativity and naturally , the pride we share as alumni !
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“ We need to connect with each other and engage with our campus , so that in addition to getting younger , our network gets stronger as well .”
So whether you ’ ve graduated in the past decade or you ’ ve been a Triton for two , three , or four or more decades now , I encourage you to come together with your local club , build our alumni connection and foster the spirit of UC San Diego wherever your life after graduation has taken you .
And of course , if you can ’ t get enough of campus or haven ’ t been back in a while , make sure you return to where it all began with UC San Diego ’ s Homecoming , this October 19-21 . I ’ ll look forward to seeing you there .
With Triton pride ,
Jeff Belk ’
83 President , UC San Diego Alumni
56 TRITON | FALL 2018