“We go out into the world to build our careers and
our lives, but often times we don't stop to look at
what we’ve accomplished and to reconnect with
our old friends and make some new ones.”
L U CAS
homesick. He soon pledged Sigma
Chi, joined the rowing team, and
forged new friendships. “I came out
of my shell at JU and learned who I
was and what I wanted to do with
my life. It was fantastic!” he said. “I
want to be sure others have that same
experience I did.”
For Craft, an Atlanta native, it
just made sense to give back to
the university that brought her to
Jacksonville as grad assistant for the
women’s volleyball indoor and sand
volleyball program. “My volleyball
coach at the University of South
Carolina got the coaching position
at JU and asked me to come along
to help coach and get my MBA,” she
said. “How could I pass that up?” Craft
loves that she can see the impact she
is making just by looking around
campus. “It’s a privilege as a young
alum to get to give back.”
G I V I N G J OY
TO OTHERS
“I’ve been volunteering and giving
back since I came to JU,” said Fennell,
a Marketing and Communications
MEERS
'12
Coordinator for Duval County Public
Schools. “Recently joining the GOLD
Phin Society made it more official.” JU’s Engagement Office to create a
JU Black Alumni Network that will
launch Summer 2020.
Originally from Palm Coast, Fla., he
dreamed of attending the university
where two of his older brothers
played football. So Fennell moved to
Jacksonville to transfer to JU at the
beginning of his junior year. “JU helped shape my character. I
learned so much about life while I was
there,” Fennell said. “I want to see other
students who look like me succeed.”
Fennell didn’t want all the financial
responsibility for his education to
fall to his family. So, to help pay
for housing and other expenses, he
applied to become an RA, became the
videographer for the soccer team, and
a student ambassador giving campus
tours. “I worked really hard to stay,”
he recalled. “I was given some great
opportunities and I soon learned that
volunteering was about giving joy to
others, not to yourself.”
Inspired to make a difference in
the lives of those on campus, he
founded the Distinguished Black
Gentlemen of JU while he was a
student. As an alumnus, he regularly
volunteers at Black Student Union
events and is currently working with
THE JU
INVESTMENT
The desire to invest in the school
that made a large impact in their
lives is what continues to drive JU’s
GOLD Phin Society. "JU made an
investment in us when we created
this group," Meers said. "As GOLD
Phins, we want to build upon making
JU a place where everyone wants to
be and for alumni to come back and
feel like they are home. By hosting
these events around Jacksonville, we
are creating a lasting impression that
JU is investing both in our family of
alumni and in our community."
Learn more about the
GOLD Phin Society by visiting
www.ju.edu/goldphin.
F E AT U R E S
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