How Do You Keep Alumni Connected to the University After They Graduate?

In this video, Holly makes the case for mentoring as the answer to a question every alumni relations office wrestles with: how do you keep graduates genuinely connected to their university once they've left campus?

Rather than treating alumni as a resource to tap for donations, event attendance, or feedback surveys, she reframes mentoring as something universities give back, a real, meaningful relationship rather than another ask. Holly digs into the two-sided value: mentees gain guidance and connection, while mentors get their own reward, reflecting on career milestones and mistakes in a way that builds satisfaction and self-awareness. She notes that good programs also train mentors, and those leadership skills carry straight back into their day jobs.

The throughline is connection at every level: alumni to each other, and alumni back to the institution that made the introduction possible. She closes with a practical nudge, using mentoring software to keep graduates looped into other events and networking opportunities, positioning mentoring as the anchor for a much bigger alumni engagement strategy.

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