Waynesburg University students are well aware of the university’s mission, which includes educating students to make connections between faith, learning and serving. What they may not be aware of, however, is how former students have used those connections to build successful lives after leaving Waynesburg.
That is the purpose of the servant leadership alumni speaker series “Leaving Your Fingerprints.” Kelley Hardie, assistant dean of student services, started the program so that students could learn how alumni apply the university’s mission to life after college.
“The intention behind it was for our students to hear from alumni about how the mission of faith, learning and service had an impact on them after they graduated,” Hardie said. “I chose the title ‘Leaving Your Fingerprints’ because of the many alumni that left their fingerprints behind building Miller Hall.”
Hardie used the fingerprints as a symbol of the impact alumni have on the university.
“After seeing the fingerprints that were left behind in Miller Hall, I thought this would be a great series to initiate here on campus,” Hardie said. “Our students are really enjoying it.”
The series, which began last fall, brings in alumni every month to speak to students. The event is free, and occurs on one Thursday every month in Buhl Hall’s McCance Auditorium. The alumni discuss a number of different topics to show how the university’s mission applies to all walks of life.
“What I ultimately want students to take away from the series is that everybody has their own journey and each of the alumni shared a different story of how that mission impacted them,” Hardie said. “Whether that be an athletic focus, scientific or academic focus. It is very unique, all of our alumni were completely unique in the sense that they all had different majors, different stories and they participated in different clubs and organizations.”
Hardie believes the series has been a success early on because of the current students’ enthusiasm to learn from the alumni that have preceded them.
“I just think it is really great because our students want to hear from alumni,” Hardie said. “They want to hear from alumni, they want to hear these success stories, they want to hear about how the mission has an impact on them, and they have lots of questions to ask them. So it is really neat to have our alumni come back and share some of their words of wisdom with our current students.”
The next “Leaving Your Fingerprints” event will be held on Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. with Charles W. Trump Jr., executive vice president and secretary of First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Greene County.
The end goal of the series is to show current students examples of former students who are making an impact in the world with the education they received at Waynesburg and inspire them to do the same when they leave.
“Ultimately what I would want students to take away from that is they can leave their fingerprints in a number of different ways,” Hardie said. “And to continue to do that upon graduation.”