Newsletter Spring 2016

Newsletter header

Welcome (back) dear alumni!

Here we are again with another UCAA Newsletter; we are trying to use our other mediums such as Facebook and LinkedIn to keep you posted about the whereabouts of our community; and you have also been very active in responding to our events and calls, that gives us extra motives and incentives to continue our work.

Like always most of our work is behind the scenes: We facilitated the publication of the 10th edition of the Post magazine despite all the financial barriers, and it was not only “bigger” than the previous editions but it was also published on higher volume and sent to a selected number of companies and your parents, namely those who are currently residing in the Netherlands to show them a glimpse of what we – as the alumni – are doing and the money they spent on our education at UCU has not all gone to waste. We are very proud of the Post magazine and we would like to thank the editorial board of Post for all their work throughout these years.

We are following through the Strategic Outlook which we shared with you last year (to be found here). Our annual report (to be found here) is approved by UCU Management Team and our audit is conducted with transparency. We are very proud to have lowered our overhead costs to less than 10%; and this is very much in line with our strategy for our financial sustainability; in the same path we have approached external sponsors for Post and our other activities. Over 2015, the board worked tirelessly to sustain the other aspects of our foundation: we have shifted the structure of the organization from “individual-based” to “position-based” meaning that the activities of every section is “continued” after the departure of the person holding that position rather than being “invented” again. As a volunteer-based organization this was one of our biggest challenges over the years.

As of Spring 2016, we are rolling out another step of our strategy for financial sustainability: we are promoting and encouraging the members of the community – aka YOU – to become a donor for UCAA. As of Spring 2016 our events are only free of charge for UCAA donors (and the recent graduates i.e. the ones graduated in the last 5 years). As explained in our Strategic Outlook, we need to diversify our resources and your contribution is an integral part of our bigger plan.

We also would like to thank two of our departed members namely Esther Kieft (’11) and Thijs Olthof (’14) who contributed significantly to our growth. And we are welcoming two new board members: Tycho Sikkenk (’12), who filled the treasurer position and Lot Wagemakers (‘11) as the new events coordinator.

We all look forward to the coming year full of events and new ideas.

Your UCAA Board

Events!

UCAA PubQuiz, 9th April
Same as every year, we are bringing you a PubQuiz! Come and join us in the UCSA bar on the 9th of April for some fun with old friends!
You can come with an already formed team (up to 5 people) or just join a team on the spot!


Changing your address in our records!

Have you been receiving our Alumni magazine the Post? Every half year when the Post is published, a number of copies are returned to us as undelivered. Please forward to us your current posting address at info@ucaa.nl and we will take care of the update!

20160308_PostMagazine_call-for-content_v2 (2)

Newsletter May 2014

Dear alumni,

It’s been a little while, but here it is: a brand new edition of the UCAA newsletter. Get excited, because Post is on its way and in two weeks we’ll have a UCAA Barbecue on campus again!

Still yours,

The UCAA Board

UCAA Summer BBQ

It is that time of the year again for good food, delicious sauces and the company of your fellow alumni in the -hopefully- hot Utrecht sun. Join us for the annual Summer BBQ on Saturday June 6th! The BBQ is one of the largest alumni gatherings of the year and is a perfect opportunity for UCU friends to come together. This year the BBQ is hosted together with UCU’s Employment Group, but no worries, we’ll have enough food to share :). Please RSVP here. Hope to see you there!

Post Magazine: Summer 2014 Edition

In a few short weeks, another edition of Post, UCAA’s alumni magazine willl be delivered in your mailbox. Make sure you’ve updated your address so that you don’t miss out on the awesomeness that is this edition of Post. If you get creatively inspired by this issue and would like to contribute to Post by writing an article, making illustrations or letting us use your photos, you are more than welcome to send us an email at info@ucaa.nl.

Newsletter March 2014

Dear alumni,

Do you miss classes on the quad now that it’s Spring again? Don’t worry, there are quite a few legitimate reasons to go back to campus in the upcoming months! Also, we’re looking for some very smart yet entertaining people… Read on!

Forever yours,

The UCAA Board

Twister!

This year marks 15 years of UCSA greatness. To celebrate this, the UCSA Lustrum Festival will take place this year on April 13th at 12:00 (a day after the Inter-UC championships for those who like to strut UCU pride). Come enjoy live performances, food & drink and good company! Also, we’ll be there to play some graduate-level games with you…

How great is your grade?

Are your grades getting you to where you want to be? Have you found out what you really want in post-UC life? This year’s Career Conference on April 1st will help you answer these questions. Please do register as soon as you can for your favorite workshop. Only have time in the evening? Not a problem! Join us for an informal dinner at 18.00 and tell us how you think career decisions are best made! Email babak@ucaa.nl to sign up for dinner.

Maiolo and pi

Do you know exactly how long it took for Neil, Buzz, and Michael to get to the moon, yet have no clue what Maiolo taught you in Intro to Political Theory? When asked, can you dictate Pi to the 65th decimal, yet you need to check for your own phone number? And do you not recall your own graduation date, while you can easily sum up those of all Nobel laureates in Chemistry? Then it’s high time you apply for next year’s UCAA Pub Quiz quiz masters team!  Email januschka-events@ucaa.nl for more info.

Newsletter February 2014

Dear alumni,

If we didn’t get the chance to meet you at our New Year’s Drinks this year, we would like to wish you a very happy 2014 this way (a little late, we know…). Here’s another UCAA Newsletter to keep you up to date, with exciting announcements and more events coming up!

Forever yours,

The UCAA Board

Welcome to Somaye and Tanya

After a great year, our Chair Luisa Kühlmann (’09) and PR Officer Indra Spronk-Baas (’06) have had to leave the UCAA Board to do other awesome things instead. We would like to thank them once again for their hard work!

We’re very happy to welcome Somaye Dehban (’07) as our new Chair and Tanya van Goch (’12½) as our new PR Officer. Both are very enthusiastic and full of ideas to make the UCAA even better. Read more about them on our website soon!

Pub Quiz

What is Egypt’s national currency? Which prime number is the next highest after 31? Who won the Wimbledon Men’s singles championship consecutively from 1997 to 2000? Think you know the answers to these questions? Come to the annual UCAA pub quiz on March 8th and test your knowledge (after a few pints of beer). This year will be the last time with our amazing quiz masters Hans, Karel and Casper, so we’d really like to see you there!

Career Conference

On April 1st UCU alumni and students join hands to discuss and discover new opportunties on the labour market during the annual Career Conference. Companies represented range from Sothebey to McKinsey and Google. An excellent chance for you to (re)discover your future employer. Registration will open soon!

Post

Last month we sent out almost 2000 copies of Post. We’re really proud of this Winter edition themed around budget cuts and wouldn’t want you to miss it. Watch your mailbox very closely, or innocent-looking neighbors might try to steal it. If you have a big pad lock on your mailbox and still didn’t receive it, you should definitely update your address with us via ucaa.nl/address.

Newsletter November 2013

Dear alumni,

While the year is approaching its end and the days are getting darker, here’s another bright UCAA newsletter. Lots of events coming up, but we also need your help! Feedback is always welcome at info@ucaa.nl!

Sincerely yours,

The UCAA Board

A Night With Your Favorite Teachers

UCAA is proud to present: A night with your favorite teachers (from way back when)! The amazing ladies Patricia Post, Rosemary Orr and Alexis Aronowitz are going to blow your mind with three separate minilectures on November 18 at the UCU Auditorium. Doors open at 7.15 PM. Come, listen and be as amazed at all the wisdom as you were when you were in the best classes that UCU had to offer. Join the Facebook event to stay updated!

Change

Fall brings about changes. Here at the UCAA, we have experienced some as well, as we have welcomed a new member! Januschka Veldstra (’13) is already busy organizing some great upcoming events. We are happy to have her enthusiastic and creative presence here with us!

Kiran Coleman, our former Chair, has left us after three years of dedicated service to the UCU alumni community. Thank you Kiran!

Call for regional representatives

We are looking for new regional representatives for Oxford, Paris, and Rotterdam. As regional representative, you play a very important role within the alumni world. Your goal is to connect alumni in the city/area by organising an event a couple of times a year. These can be drinks, dinners, whatever you can think of to allow alumni to stay in touch. Interested? Email Januschka at info@ucaa.nl.

Contribute to Post

UCAA’s absolutely positively awesomest alumni magazine Post is coming up in December again! This means good things will be coming to your mailbox in a while – if you’ve updated your address that is. Also, if you’d like to contribute to Post by writing an article, making illustrations or letting us use your photos, you are more than welcome to send us an email at info@ucaa.nl.

Upcoming events

We have some cool events in store for you again! There is the mini lectures night on November 18, but there’s more. Alumni in London can go to the ‘Welcome to London’ drinks that will take place early November, while Amsterdam-based alumni can meet up on November 22 (see Facebook for more info). Finally, there will be New Year’s drinks in Utrecht on January 4, 2014, and we will have another Pub Quiz in February. Make sure to check ucaa.nl regularly for updates on upcoming events!

Looking back

On September 6, UCU celebrated its 15th anniversary on campus with the theme of “Liberal Arts & Science Education and the Labor Market”. It was nothing less than a great success! Alumni came from all over the world to attend. Together with employers, they discussed the roles of personal initiative and striving for excellence in one’s career development during an open forum. Afterwards, alumni divided into smaller groups and conversed on a very personal level how they utilized their UCU experiences to help them overcome various hurdles. A joyous Biergarten, formal dinner, and party ensured that enough light conversation (and alcohol) rounded this extraordinary day off.