By Bart Gummere, Associate Head of School

In December and January, many of our college age alumni return to EPS while home on a break. They visit with younger friends, faculty, and staff, and take advantage of our great kitchen offerings. In the past few years, we’ve created a special day of events to take advantage of their availability. On January 5, our first day back from break, a panel of four recent grads spoke with our ninth through eleventh graders at EagleCon. They talked about their particular experiences in college and answered questions from the audience. Our intent is to help current students begin to think about what kind of college campus and experience might best fit them. Our alumni this year distinguished themselves with the generosity of their time and the wisdom and insight shared.

Later that afternoon, a larger group of alumni returned for a social gathering and to work on a service project. In addition to enjoying our Dining Team’s treats, the group enthusiastically made and bagged over 400 sandwiches to donate to the Union Gospel Mission’s outreach for the homeless. The sandwiches they made were out on the street for distribution by the next night, expanding our Mission to inspire alumni to create a better world.

Alumni Rylie Crow (’23), Kimberly Zhao (’25), Hannah Wand (’23), Saina Bhatt (’25), and Ella Hinson (’25) prepare sandwiches together at the young alumni service event in January

Growing Alumni Base

One of the most striking developments in recent years has been the rapid growth of our alumni community. The number of EPS graduates has risen dramatically, as shown below, culminating in more than 850 alumni after this year’s graduation.

YEAR
2011 | 2016 | 2021 | 2026

TOTAL ALUMNI
46 | 192 | 456 | 853

Viewed through this year’s theme—Responsible Action: Care Through Clarity—this growth invites an important question: How do we best care for our alumni as their numbers and needs expand? Clear, thoughtful communication is central to demonstrating care, yet communicating effectively with a fastgrowing and increasingly diverse group is becoming more challenging.

Our alumni now span a wide range of life stages and interests—from our earliest graduates, now in their mid-thirties, to those just beginning their college careers—and these differences will only become more pronounced in the decade ahead.

As the alumni community continues to grow and diversify, creating meaningful, relevant communication for everyone becomes increasingly complex. Some alumni may soon have children considering EPS as a school option. Those newest to college may be seeking internships and guidance about academic pathways. Recent college graduates may be eager to attend social events such as pub night, while older alumni may be more interested in school activities like the Middle School play and whether it’s a good outing for their six-year-old. Meeting such varied interests requires thoughtful planning and intentional outreach.

Alumni and faculty at a gathering last year

Over the next year, one of our major priorities will be developing a clearer, more strategic approach to alumni communication and programming. I am fortunate to be working with Chase Johnsen and Marta Picoto (two alumni on our Board of Trustees), along with Director of Institutional Advancement Vickie Baldwin, to begin shaping these priorities. We also plan to engage alumni directly to better understand how they want to connect with each other and with the school.

To this end several efforts have already commenced. In March we held two listening groups with alumni. One was in-person on campus and the other was remote, so that we could capture the thoughts of alumni all over the country. They were prompted to talk about ways in which they might like to engage as well as what aspects of their EPS education have best served them in college and out in the work world.

The Class of 2014 at their ten-year reunion

Other Upcoming Alumni Events

7TH ANNUAL ALUMNI PUB NIGHT
Thursday, May 21
Stoup Brewery, Ballard

10-YEAR REUNIONS / CLASS OF 2015 & 2016
Saturday, May 30
EPS Campus

ALL-COMMUNITY BARBECUE/ ARTS FEST
Saturday, May 30
EPS Campus