Ever use Google Maps? We just launched a very tool that provides CA alumni a way to stay connected and to network with one another. It is built on a WordPress CMS platform with customized Google mapping tools. One of the map views features a nationwide (and in some cases worldwide) look at where CA students choose to attend colleges and universities with matriculation data for the past five years.

 

An interactive map on a separate tab showcases alumni from coast to coast with their areas of study, specialty, and geographic location.  Viewers can click on the icons to find alumni, and for those that have provided it, there is a real-time LinkedIn URL. Our Colorado Academy Alumni Board is working to launch a mentoring program for new CA graduates in the coming year using this tool as well. Says board member Sara Gans Blue ‘96, “The CA Alumni Board plans to work within the ShowCAse and on the CA Alumni LinkedIn page (CA Connection) to form mentor programs and allow the CA community to integrate and benefit from each other's experiences and expertise. The first mentor program will be launched with 2014 college grads in the spring.”

 

 As we shared the Alumni ShowCAse with alumni via email this week, it has been very exciting to watch the alumni connections roll in, including dozens in the first 24 hours of launch: Lizzy Annison Yates ’96, owner of her own photography company in Little Rock, Arkansas; Garth Coombs ’75, Chair of the Management Department in the Ohio University College of Business; Jed Shields ’95, Manager of Yard Operations for Union Pacific Railroad; Steven Gordon ’68, Staff Physician in Medical and Family Practice at the Siouxland Community Health Center; Daniel Lopez ’86, Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. State Department; Anshuman Bhatia ‘06, working in New York in scenic and lighting design; Emily Dubin ’00, a graphic designer working for Chronicle Books, and dozens more.

 

I am always amazed to see the many ways in which our alumni are so incredibly engaged and giving back in our world. I invite you to take a look: (http://www.coacademyalumnishowcase.org) and enjoy the tremendous legacy that our alumni are creating.