Local alumni association starts anew

The Princeton Area Alumni Association (PA3) — an organization of alumni who reside in the greater Princeton area — reinvented itself in May 2008 after a more than decade-long absence and has since made its presence felt on campus and in the local community.

Kristin Epstein ’97, now the chair of PA3, said that the idea to restart the association came to her when she first realized that there was no active alumni association for Princeton-area residents. She had been receiving e-mails from other groups, such as the one based in Philadelphia.

Epstein discovered that there was no active Princeton area association to plan events for alumni living near Old Nassau when she contacted the Alumni Council’s assistant director for regional affairs, Liz Greenberg ’02.

Jeremy Kestler ’94, the current PA3 vice-chair, said in an interview that the association has “come and gone” in the past. Epstein explained that this was “at least the third reincarnation” of the association.

David Woffindin ’75, who is currently serving as the organization’s treasurer — a role he held in the 1990s as well — said that when the organization was last active from 1990 to 1995, it “didn’t stage a lot of events.” After a few years, he said, “we couldn’t generate enough interest.”

Cheryl Rowe-Rendleman ’81, the Student Liaison Committee chair, said in an e-mail that the lack of activity in the past can be attributed to the fact that campus events are readily accessible to alumni in the Princeton area. “There might not have been a need to develop outreach to Princeton because its proximity made it unnecessary,” she explained.

Yet some alumni still felt that there was a void. After deciding to restart PA3, Epstein sent an e-mail to all of the alumni in the area to ask for volunteers. About 50 alumni responded, which Kestler pointed out was an impressive response rate for a mass e-mailing.

The alumni met over the summer to determine the leadership of the organization and set up several committees that “address current needs among ourselves as well as on campus,” Rowe-Rendleman said. Each committee now has its own chair and a handful of volunteers, and the new members have been seeking advice from members from the organization’s distant past.

Kestler emphasized that PA3 can facilitate communication between the University and the local alumni and help the University in various ways. In particular, joining career panels is “a really big benefit that the local alumni association can provide,” he said.

PA3 is now considering initiatives such as offering students summer internships, organizing speaker series about career paths and helping to recruit alumni interviewers for Princeton applicants. In addition, alumni could open their homes to students who cannot go home during breaks.

PA3 participated in an alumni networking reception organized by Career Services in July and the Class of 2012 Pre-Rade. It has also organized social activities apart from the University that foster alumni connections, such as a few happy hours and “Little Tigers” play dates.

This Saturday, PA3 will be taking a trip to Isles, Inc., a non-profit organization in Trenton founded by Marty Johnson ’81. Volunteers will tear down walls and do some garden work as part of a development initiative in the area.

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Kestler said he believes that more alumni will become involved as they keep receiving e-mails about upcoming events and activities. “It’s gradual and it takes a little bit of momentum,” he explained.

Woffindin said that PA3 can avoid the fate the organization suffered in the ’90s now that the group has access to online resources such as the alumni directory on TigerNet.

In light of the activities the University already sponsors on campus, Kestler said that one goal of PA3 is to participate “in a helpful way, not in a way that is redundant or that duplicates” the University’s efforts.