IN FALL 2020, your UCAA Executive Committee launched our Fostering Community project at our Open General Meeting. There in that Zoom Room, with one of the largest turnouts of UCAA members we have ever had the pleasure of seeing, we asked the question: "What do you wish for in your UCAA community?"
The answers, I think, will not surprise you. We are looking for connection with UC students, each other, and with our College. Based on the questions fellow members posed, UC alumni are not only feeling the sense of isolation, but they also worry for UC students and want to help.
This altruistic UC spirit shows-up in every dialogue the Executive Committee has held, both one-to-one and in small groups. I was particularly struck by the UC Books group, whose tight-knit and energetic community has long created an energized space for us to meet each other as we flip through the books. In other conversations, we heard the passion for learning and giving back in wisdom, energy, and time.
We continue to welcome your input on what you hope for your UCAA community. We are particularly interested in hearing from newer alumni and UC alumni who may not yet see themselves represented. By bringing your voice to our thinking, we can create a more inclusive and nuanced vision for the future of the UCAA that is integrated with UC, in support of students, each other, and our beloved College. Send your us an email and an Exec member will be happy to chat with you.
As I write this in February, a snowstorm rages outside; everything is quiet. I wonder how many UC students, staff, faculty, leaders, and alumni might be doing the very same thing at this very same moment? How close might we be, and yet feeling so far apart?
When I remember my UC days of dashing through those echoing and etched walls, sipping coffee with friends on the JCR couches, dancing and laughing at Fireball, and pausing for just a split- second on the cross-campus dash with thousands of other U of T students to take-in the beauty of our UC home building, I remember what it felt like to belong. And I remember that now, despite our distances, we really do belong, still, here at University College.