Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/517095
Calendar Global impact New campaign showcases how CMU alumni are putting their stamp on the world By Marcie Otteman Grawburg, '87, executive director of alumni relations, and Sherry Knight, '86, associate vice president of university communications Tyler Wallner joined the ranks of CMU alumni just days ago and had a job with Henry Schein Dental waiting for him in California. The offer to be a field sales consultant had come already last summer, following an internship. A passionate Chippewa, he recently described what he called the "grit" of CMU students and alumni competing against peers nationwide. We excel, he said, because CMU academics are top-notch, our faculty and staff support us, and because we work smarter and harder. Tyler knows, because the other interns at Henry Schein came from "bigger name" universities. He'd had a moment of intimidation, before remembering the coaching of faculty member Ken Cherry, who'd told his students they could out-think and out-work anyone. Tyler embodies CMU's new "Put your stamp on the world" marketing campaign. It's a theme that reflects a life goal for incoming and current students. It's what CMU faculty and staff do every day. And, whether you graduated this month or 10, 25 or 50 years ago, it's also what you do, in ways large and small. The campaign captures our spirit and our soul. It is marked by our iconic action C, placed in a hexagon that symbolically joins us all together. It celebrates all of us, the lifeblood of a major university distinguished by a remarkable sense of community. If you live in Michigan, you've probably seen one of our billboards, TV commercials, digital ads, or even a maroon and gold, big action C public transportation bus in southeast Michigan, Grand Rapids or Flint. We hope you're loving it and helping to spread the word about the many ways in which tens of thousands of CMU alumni, students, faculty and staff are putting their own stamp on the world. We hear stories daily of alumni making a difference, usually focused not on their own glory, but on the next person they will help. You'll read about a few of them in this issue, including Dr. Sarah Roberts, who is providing much-needed health care for Alaska's underserved, and Bryan Burnstein, who is putting the skills he learned at CMU to work for world-renowned Cirque du Soleil, helping performers remain strong and healthy. 3 centralight summer '15 July 20 Traverse City Scholarship Golf Outing, Traverse City Country Club 24 Michigan Adventure, Muskegon September 11 Alumni Awards dinner, Campus 21 Great Lakes Bay Region Scholarship Golf Outing, Apple Mountain, Freeland October 3 Homecoming, campus 23-25 Mackinac Island Alumni Weekend, Mackinac Island November 13-16 Alumni Cruise, Bahamas This is a small sampling of the many alumni events throughout the U.S. Please visit alumni.cmich.edu for a comprehensive list. Other alumni are putting their stamp on the world more literally. They are grads from the May 2014 class – the first to receive the gift of a full-sized CMU flag at commencement from President George E. Ross, who encouraged them to fly their colors proudly. We talked with some from that class who are doing just that; you can read their stories in this issue. At CMU, we believe all of our students, all of our faculty and staff, and all of our alumni have important stories … stamps they put on the world every single day. Fire Up, Chips.