Last March, University of Missouri-St. Louis implemented a program that allows students and alumni to interact.
The program is called “Dinner With 12 Strangers” and consists of six students and six alumni who meet at a restaurant of the alumni’s choice
The idea for the program came from Michelle Kilper, who is on the University Relations staff.
The Alumni Association’s student engagement committee was “exploring possible programs and events where alumni and students could interact,” Michael J. Finkes, alumnus participant in the program, said.
The “Dinner with 12 Strangers” program had already been implemented at another university, but the committee saw the “potential” it had if put into action at UM-St. Louis.
“The potential for a successful ‘Dinner with 12 Strangers’ [program] at our university was apparent to the committee,” Finkes said.
“We modified, and continue to modify, the program to fit our circumstances.”Finkes also said the program was perfect for the university because UM-St. Louis is always on the lookout for new alumni-student interaction opportunities.
UM-St. Louis has a unique situation in that 70 percent of UM-St. Louis graduates live in the St. Louis region, providing “a circumstance for alumni/student interactions that most universities don’t have,”Finkes said.
Finkes said the program has significance because the alumni can offer advice and their experiences with current students of the university. The program offers both students and alumni numerous benefits, Finkes said.
“The benefit to the students seems obvious,” Finkes said.
“The benefit to the alumni is the feeling of sharing and of making a difference in a student’s career.”
Crystal Santomour, senior, biology, was one of the first students to attend a “Dinner with 12 Strangers” event.
Santomour said it was an “amazing experience,” and that the alumni had a wealth of knowledge to offer to students.
“I learned a lot from the alumni,” Santomour said. “The backgrounds of the alumni and students were all different so it offered a lot of different perspectives on the conversation topics.”
Santomour said she was surprised at the level of interest the alumni had in the students.
She said it was great that the alumni cared and that they even offered tips and insight into helping out the students.
“I never thought that the alumni really cared, but they wanted to know everything … about our majors, our goals, how we were planning to get there, and [they] offered valuable insight and offered tips to help us out.” Santomour said.
Santomour said that anyone who is interested in being added to the waiting list for the program can contact Michelle Kilper at Kilperm@umsl.edu.
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