Author: Prachi Shah

CONGRATULATIONS to the nine amazing new members SAA has taken in this semester! This Spring SAA conducted a recruitment process in order to fill the spots of our wonderful seniors that will graduating and moving on to bigger and better things. We hosted interest session to get word out about the great work SAA does as an organization. Here we handed out an application to give potential new members a chance to show off why they would be perfect for SAA. Those interested then attended an interview and a group process where we really find out how well the applicants work together as a group. This process is unlike other clubs on campus, but it shows us who would fit best in SAA. The decision process was extremely difficult because of the fantastic caliber of applicants, but we came together as a group to pick the best 9 applicants and we could not be happier with our decision.

This week was their first meeting as new members and they are off and running already contributing to the organization with great ideas for our upcoming events. Be sure to come out and see our new members in action at our upcoming events, Softball pandemonium April 19^th at 12pm, Baseball pandemonium April 24^th at 6pm and Pirate Birthday May 2^nd as part of Spring fling.

The Student Alumni Association (SAA) is back for another amazing semester and we are hitting the ground running! February is Student Engagement and Philanthropy Month (SEPM) and we will be at various locations around campus to allow students to reach out and say “Thank You” to those who have made our time at Seton Hall possible! Student Engagement and Philanthropy Month is a program organized by CASE Affiliated Student Advancement Programs  that is designed to increase student awareness about philanthropy and to grow student engagement around campus. It is a program that is celebrated by universities all over the country every year and we are proud to take part in such an amazing opportunity. During SEPM the members of SAA will be hosting events and activities to engage students and increase awareness about philanthropy in higher education. Make sure to keep an eye out for our tables throughout February for your chance to win prizes and a chance to thank those who make our education special.

This summer, our SAA members had the opportunity to travel and capitalize on professional development opportunities. Whether it was an event in New Jersey, or a trip to Missouri, members took advantage of traveling and networked not only with other Pirates and but also with organizations like our own. Below are two members’ experiences from the summer:

I had seen pictures from the 2013 CASE ASAP conference and was excited to be able to make my own memories in St. Louis.Being in a hotel with hundreds of other students with similar interests and goals heightened my passion for a successful contribution to my

Student Alumni Association. No two ideas out of hundreds of presentations were the same. It was rewarding not only to see the different paths other universities take but also to experience my own growth and pride from presenting Seton Hall’s ideas and answering questions that other Universities had. I thought that sitting through four presentations a day would be less than exciting, but I learned so much from these sessions and they made me so excited to go back to SHU and start a new tradition. As a new member of SAA, the CASE ASAP trip helped me bond with my fellow members and create many new friendships. I can’t wait for the next few meetings and retreat when we can start telling the rest of the organization what we learned and what we would like to start doing at Seton Hall.            – Rhiannon Ohnstead ‘16

On July 23rd I was given the tremendous opportunity, along with a few fellow SAA members, to travel to our nation’s capitol to represent Seton Hall University during the 11th annual The Hall on the Hill reception. Upon our arrival in D.C. we went sight-seeing and we showed our Pirate pride at each stop.  This was my first travel experience with SAA, as I am a new member, so I was unsure what to expect, but the event was incredible.

We arrived and helped with setting up and checking people into the event. Alumni, members of Congress, and our University President joined together to celebrate the immense growth that Seton Hall has gone through and the bright future of where Seton

Hall is headed. I had the opportunity to meet so many amazing alumni who were  enthusiastic in sharing their stories and eager to also hear about my Seton Hall experience. After the event wrapped up we were able to personally speak with President Esteban and he shared stories with us about his college life and praised us for the work we had done. He even gave us in depth news of changes that we would see when we arrived back to school in August! To conclude our exciting day, we got the chance to go to dinner with one of SAA’s first presidents, Matt Steele, and other proud alumni. It was a phenomenal trip, and I look forward to seeing where SAA takes me next!            -Jason Rivera ’16