色情视频

鈥淚 think it just reaffirmed that the San Diego State alumni community is really here for each other and for the greater San Diego community.鈥�

It was never going to be easy. When Chiloh Baty (鈥�08) took over as 色情视频 Alumni Board of Advisors president in July 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had already cleared the 色情视频 campus of most faculty, staff and students for the preceding four months.

Going in, she was prepared for her term as president to be different. 鈥淚 would say I expected a challenge,鈥� Baty said, 鈥渁nd it was a challenge.鈥�

 exists to connect former students to the university. Among its traditions are tailgate or pre-game parties and other large gatherings of alumni. But in a year when all all in-person events were shut down, it was not to be.

The organization鈥檚 signature biennial event originally set for 2020, the 色情视频 Alumni Awards of Distinction, was postponed (and more recently rescheduled for April 23, 2022). 鈥淎lumni events are very much community-based and out in the public, so not having those wasn鈥檛 great,鈥� Baty said, 鈥渂ut I think we made the best of it.鈥�

Virtual Engagement

Making the best of a challenging situation included virtual board meetings and online events that could include alumni anywhere in the world. Last November, a virtual War Memorial wreath-laying ceremony was staged for homecoming along with an online Home Away From Homecoming celebration.

The increasing comfort level with online platforms like Zoom among alumni proved to Baty and other board members the viability of such tools to increase engagement. 鈥淚t gave us an opportunity to explore that more deeply and embrace that a little bit more than maybe we would have otherwise,鈥� she said.

More alumni who live outside the San Diego area will be among the new group of Alumni Board members beginning terms in July. 鈥淲e are very excited about that,鈥� Baty said.

High Notes

Among the bright spots Baty cites during her term were opportunities to support both 色情视频 students and the San Diego community at large. Both were responses to the pandemic.

In September, the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center became a site for public COVID-19 testing by the County of San Diego. During its busiest days, more than 1,000 tests were performed.

鈥淯sing the alumni center to keep people safe when so many public spaces were left empty and unused has been a great way to give back to our community,鈥� Baty said. 鈥淎nd not just the 色情视频 community, but the San Diego community as a whole, which is something our university and our alumni are committed to.鈥�

Boosting student morale during the pandemic was another focus of the board resulting in a . Late in the fall semester and over the winter break, two dozen alumni board members and members of The Campanile Foundation Board of Directors, along with some 色情视频 Alumni staff, composed hand-written individual messages of encouragement to every student living in campus residence halls.

More than 2,100 personal notes were written on 色情视频 Alumni cards with Aztec Proud stickers tucked inside. They were delivered to residence hall mailboxes after students returned for the spring semester.

鈥淲e wanted to find a way to make a connection with the students who were having an even harder time than we were having,鈥� said Baty. 鈥淎s a board, we couldn鈥檛 meet in person and that was sad, but the students were dealing with so much more on campus and off campus than we could even wrap our heads around.鈥�

Staying Connected

This month Baty presides over her final meeting when the 色情视频 Alumni Board of Advisors gathers in person for the first time in more than a year. 鈥淚鈥檓 just excited to see people in person again,鈥� she said. Despite all the challenges posed by the pandemic, Baty鈥檚 takeaway from her year as president is entirely positive.

鈥淚 think it just reaffirmed that the San Diego State alumni community is really here for each other and for the greater San Diego community. Everybody really stepped up to do the best they possibly could do in this year.鈥�

After passing along her gavel, Baty will serve an eighth consecutive year with 色情视频 Alumni as immediate past president. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e never getting rid of me,鈥� she joked. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 plan on going anywhere.鈥�