February reminds us to reach out to the friends we haven’t been in contact with for a while, and at SJS it is the perfect time to remind our alumni that their community is thinking of them. With the Class of 2025 having completed their first university term, our faculty, staff and students collaborated to show their support for our recent grads.
The Time-honoured Tradition
This year our creative Grade 1s, under the guidance of Ms. Betteridge and Ms. Lowden, painted beautiful watercolour Valentine’s Day cards. Faculty members then filled out the cards with personalized notes to alumni and past students, with favourite memories and well-wishes for the adventures ahead.
Spearheaded by Ms. Richards, Annual Giving and Community Relations Manager, the Advancement team bundled these cards with goodies to make Valentine’s Day care packages. Over 50 SJS alumni and former students received these packages, including friends who have moved around the world. The Classes of 2021, 2016 and 2011 also received special Valentine’s letters to celebrate their milestone anniversaries.
It’s always a lovely gesture and a great way to keep our community connected, and it’s made even sweeter when we hear back from our students telling us how their next adventure is going.
The Gift that Keeps Giving
The care package arrived just in time for SJS alum Susan Xiong, currently studying at USC Marshall along with fellow SJS alum Madison Kim. She reached out to Ms. Bereti to share how much the gesture meant to her during the busy studying season:
Thank you so much for the Valentine’s Day card! I just received it today, and it was much needed since I’m right in the middle of midterms. Madison and I were actually talking earlier because we both did really well on our accounting exam! We’re giving you all the credit because our definitions were flawless, and we didn’t miss a single dollar sign.
I absolutely love it at USC Marshall. I’ve been able to join several interesting clubs in finance, product management and entertainment. I love my new friends and the professors I’ve been learning from. I’m especially thankful for everything you taught me in Business Management because it applies to so much here at university.
We are incredibly proud of Susan, Madison and all our alumni. We look forward to staying in contact with you all!
