UH’s Student Alumni Connection is inviting students to take part in the Dinner for 10 Cougars event.
“Dinner for 10 Cougars is run by (SAC), and it is a program that helps create a connection between alumni and current UH students,” said Jamie Eubanks, director of Student Initiatives for the University of Houston Alumni Association.
“This program consists of alumni-hosted dinners, which enables students to meet successful alumni and fellow students in a casual environment,” Eubanks said.
Eubanks discussed how the program came to be.
“It was one of the first programs that was implemented through SAC,” she said.
“This program is usually in the spring semester, but we are going to try hosting dinners in the fall as well.”
The program, which was created in 2001, has had its array of hosts.
“The dinner hosts vary each year,” Eubanks said. “We usually ask all of our alumni groups to host, and then we always have individuals that like to host.”
This year, hosts for a number of dinners include Martha Haun, from the School of Communication, the UH Hispanic and the UH Technology alumni associations and the College of Education.
The Dinner for 10 Cougars, which Eubanks referred to as a great networking event, has students like SAC Committee Chairman Cameron Bailey agreeing about the networking the program promotes.
Bailey, who attended the dinner hosted by Haun on Feb. 28, said it was another great way for students to mingle and network.
“The event is a good idea for the school because it’s a way that alumni can give back besides money, and get closer to students at the same time,” Bailey said.
Bailey is also involved with the program as a dinner captain.
“We (dinner captains) make sure all the students can attend, or help them with the transportation if they need it,” he said.
Madelyn Canas, another dinner captain and Alpha Lamda Delta publicist, attended last week’s Hispanic Alumni Association hosted dinner.
“It was another great dinner,” Canas said. “The food was once again awesome and there were so many people to talk and network with.”
Canas attended the event last year after chemistry professor Simon Bott announced the dinners during class.
“I filled out the form for the event, got the e-mail with the information on the dinner, went, loved it,” Canas said.
“Then I joined the Student Alumni Connection, which is how I went to this year’s dinner, too.”
Just as past students make connections with UH’s current students, Canas believes the dinners help connect current students with future students.
“I think this type of event is a great thing for our school because it gets students involved with Cougar alumni, which helps them start thinking about helping out future students after graduating from UH,” Canas said.
Besides the networking of alumni and students, Eubanks wants all attendees to achieve one other thing.
“The ultimate goal is to turn ten strangers into ten friends by the end of the evening,” Eubanks said.
