The Alumni Association has a new student program: the Future Alumni of Michigan, or FAM.
FAM currently consists of 10 student ambassadors and its core mission is to enhance the connection between students at U-M and the Alumni Association.
The ambassadors are charged with helping promote the Alumni Association and its services to the student body, collaborating with student organizations, and representing student interests within the Alumni Association by contributing to the design, feedback, and implementation of student-focused programming.
“It’s about increasing awareness of student programming and the Alumni Association in general,” says Bree Marich, ’18, the Alumni Association’s student engagement coordinator.
FAM launched in the fall of 2023, but it remained mainly in the planning phases for the first year. Now in its second year, the number of ambassadors has grown, and the events they’ve participated in have increased. The group also discussed new ideas for the Forever Go Blue Bash, the Alumni Association’s signature spring event to celebrate graduating seniors on Ingalls Mall. This year, the event will be held on April 16.
Other major student programming includes Welcome Wednesdays where students can get free bagels and coffee during most Wednesdays during the school year, a week of events to destress during finals, and a program where students can get free blue books. The Alumni Center is also open to students as a study space during normal business hours.
Sophomore Lakshay Sood says he became a FAM ambassador so he could be more involved on campus.
“I also wanted to grow professionally and form my own community,” he says.
In his first year with FAM, Sood says he helped the Alumni Association with an event with TikTok influencer Eli Rallo, ’20, and got to meet and hear Rajiv Shah, ’95, president of The Rockefeller Foundation, discuss his path and life.
“I’m excited for this semester and the future of the program,” Sood says.
Jeremy Carroll is the senior content strategist for the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan.
