Alumni Association

Past Activities and Projects

From alumni reunions and student recruitment activities, to the association's official publication, and from alumni directories and a scholarship program to commemorative coins and credit cards, the Alumni Association is on the move!

The first all-alumni reunion in summer 1986 celebrated the college's 40th anniversary. At Homecoming later that year, excitement focused on an alumni vs. varsity men's basketball game. Trapper alumni spanning 15 years stayed in the game until the end when the more youthful varsity eked out a 75-74 victory on a last second basket. Fans were treated to a Kiss the Pig contest at half time.

One of the board's first activities directly helped students. Gathering in a small office area at the college, students staffed telephones, calling alumni to ask for donations to support a scholarship. When callers secured pledges, the shrill sounds of whistles, bells and student hoots and hollers filled the room! We're proud to say that same enthusiasm for helping students continues nearly 25 years later in the Alumni Scholarship Drive when students staff phones each spring to raise more than $50,000 in scholarships from generous alumni.

Here's a summary of activities, past and present.

• Official publication: Produced twice a year, the Northwest Alumni News is the official publication of the NWC Alumni Association. First published in spring 1980, the publication for alumni and other friends maintains contact with former students and seeks to foster greater affiliation among alumni.
• Alumni Directories: Published by Harris Publishing Co. in 1991 and 2001, the most recent publication is a 316-page, hard-bound book including messages from the college President, Alumni Association President, college profile, Alumni Association facts, as well as these alumni sections: biographical, class year, geographical and career networking.
• Distinguished Alumni Awards: Starting in 1980, Northwest began bestowing Distinguished Alumni Awards in three categories (Professional Achievement, Academic Achievement and Community Service); the honored individuals collectively served as Commencement speakers. Today, a single Distinguished Alumnus addresses graduates along with a faculty member and student who share the speakers' platform. The honored alumnus is selected annually by current and former faculty and staff as well as two representatives from the Alumni Association Board of Directors. Recognizing and honoring NWC alumni is a fitting demonstration of the college's pride in its alumni and their achievements. A large recognition plaque in the Orendorff Building displays the college's many Distinguished Alumni.
• Student recruitment:
  • Evening receptions in various communities involving alumni, faculty/staff and prospective students and their parents
  • Telecounseling in which alumni call prospective students and their parents
  • At Kick-off Weekend for new freshmen, Alumni Directors hand out give-away items and welcome parents and students
  • Alumni helping students move into residence halls
  • Alumni Directors providing testimonials for use in recruiting materials
  • Interested in helping? E-mail us
• Reunions:
  • Formal reunions helped celebrate the college's 40th and 50th anniversaries, with Northwest Singers alumni from the late '60s and early '80s returning to perform at various functions
  • Forensics program alumni gathered at a summer 2001 reunion to see the campus and visit with old friends and former instructors
  • 1978 alumni in the first graduating class of what was then known as the Horse Management program (now Equine Studies) held a mini-reunion in summer 2008, enjoying a campus tour, barbecue and the inevitable evening at Hansel 'n Gretel's
  • Alumni from 1967-69 held a reunion on campus in June 2012
  • Powell High School alumni who also attended NWC gathered for a social hour prior to the June 2012 PHS Alumni Banquet
• Alumni-student mentor program: Students are linked with alumni who work in similar fields; contact occurs throughout the year via telephone and email.
• Bridger Hall memorial: As an on-site memorial to Bridger Hall, a residence hall destroyed by fire in spring 2004 without loss of life or serious injury, the Alumni Association created a bench/planter memorial using bricks from the demolished hall; the memorial was dedicated in spring 2007, shortly after the three-year anniversary of the fire.
• Alumni Legislative Relations Network: Wyoming alumni communicating key messages to Wyoming's Legislators before and during legislative sessions.
• Alumni Association Scholarship Program: This scholarship program for children or grandchildren of alumni is among the college's most prestigious. Four recipients are selected each spring by officers of the Alumni Association Board of Directors—two traditional-aged students and two nontraditional-aged students. Each recipient receives $2,000 per year; pending maintenance of eligibility standards, scholarships are renewable for the following year. The scholarship program is funded by a portion of donations received during the annual Alumni Scholarship Drive; the lion's share of scholarship drive donations is awarded by the college as part of the general scholarship fund. 
• Commemorative Coin: Helped celebrate the college's 50th anniversary in 1996.
• "Lost Alumni" contest: Lists of alumni for whom we had no current address were published in the Northwest Alumni News, with prizes going to those who located the most number of alumni.
• Facebook: "Like" us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NorthwestcollegeWyo.
• TRAPPER SPIRIT VISA Credit Card: Offered to all alumni and friends; the NWC Foundation receives a fraction of a percentage of every transaction which is used for alumni relations activities.
• Service on NWC Board of Trustees committees: Alumni Directors are called on to represent the Alumni Association when critical committees of the Board of Trustees, such as the Building Naming Committee and Presidential Search Committees, are impaneled.