Today’s spotlight is an interview of Kelly Ragle by new staff member Malique Boothe. Malique joined the IUAA team on August 20, 2018 and is the Student Fellow for Alumni Communities.
Degree and Graduation Year from IU: B.S. in Business in 2007
Chapter Region: Central Indiana
Role/Title on Board: Immediate Past President
Can you tell me how you first got involved in working with IUAA?
As a college student, I was a B1G volunteer but unfortunately, after graduation, I was not. I got involved about seven years ago, and I was living in Chicago at the time. I was receiving the chapter emails but had not yet attended a chapter event. On this particular day, I came to the realization that volunteering was the one thing missing from my life and I recalled the recent email I received from the local IUAA chapter. I immediately emailed the President and asked if I could get involved and the rest is history! To date, I have served on the Chicago board and now Central Indiana.
What do you enjoy most about volunteering with the Alumni Association?
In Central Indiana, we get to meet alums from all IU campuses, and it’s really cool to hear each personal story and how it may different (no matter what campus they are from). It’s also incredible for our board to have such an impact on such a large group of alumni (Central Indiana is the largest chapter in the country). We have a great time planning diverse events to reach our wide audience.
What would you tell someone who is thinking about volunteering?
Volunteering is rewarding in so many ways outside of how we think of traditional “work”. Whether you have one hour to give at one time, one hour a month, or one hour a day, trust me when I say you are needed! You are appreciated!
Do you have a specific contribution or achievement in your work with your alumni board of which you are most proud?
This year, a few board members and I restructured the way we auction our men’s IU season basketball tickets. In the past, we’ve severely undervalued them, and in turn, have lost out on hundreds of dollars that could have been towards our local chapter scholarship fund (the auction supports our student scholarships). This year, we put in the time to do the research on game days, game opponents, tickets prices, etc. and not only did we make our money back on the ticket package, but we raised $589.30 in profit for the scholarship! We are excited to share these results with our chapter (and with you all), and I really hope we can keep this tradition going annually.