Becoming the Alumni You Want to See on Campus

A parent and child ride bikes together across the pavement adjacent to the University Mall.

You would be shocked by the people who have attended Elmhurst University. Many professors, of course, but also radio hosts, professional wrestlers, recording and signed artists, and even your next door neighbor. All of these people helped to create what EU is today and deserve a great campus environment just like we do.

While I walk around campus I sometimes think about what it will be like when I am an alumni and how I would like my former home to be treated. The majority of our students treat our campus with the respect that it deserves for the majority of the time they reside here, nobody’s perfect.

Students litter around campus, don’t show up, or willingly do poorly in class. They’re cheating themselves out of a once in a lifetime experience. Some folks just plain out disrespect themselves and our institution with their actions.

When even one of us acts out in these ways, it reflects badly on the whole student body and draws alumni away. The same alumni who fund scholarships and new buildings, network with our peers and often do their best to present EU in the best light it can be.

Look at the Reinhold Niebuhr statue, the new health sciences building, and even the many small gardens and trees with plaques commemorating the alumni who donated for their existence.

We all will become alumni one day and it is important to think about what future generations will remember our class. What will future generations remember our class for, too. I believe that work starts today.

This might seem silly now, but you don’t need a huge change. Pick up a fallen plate on the mall. Finish up that homework assignment you’ve been putting off. It is our actions now that set the stage for how we are looked back upon.

Some of us have many years to go, a lot of us have only a few months, maybe one year to go. Even in that short time we can make an impression and make sure future generations thrive on campus.