Ohio University’s Alumni Association plans to end seniors’ time in Athens with a lot of opportunities to eat complimentary food.
The association, in partnership with Student Alumni Board, will begin its Senior Week on Monday with a dinner with strangers. “Dinner with 12 Strangers” is usually hosted by one OU alumnus, but the event on Monday will be hosted by several OU administrators and faculty at five different Athens restaurants.
Some of those administrators and faculty include Vice President for Student Affairs Ryan Lombardi, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Shari Clarke and President for NR Media Group, LLC and marketing professor Nate Riggs.
Though the events are geared toward seniors, all OU students are allowed to attend, said Katrina Heilmeier, the Alumni Association’s associate director for campus relations.
“Right now we’ve gotten pretty positive feedback, so we’re looking at bringing in different types of people,” Heilmeier said. “That opportunity to connect with people who might have the most similar interests to you is the advantage of having the options.”
The association likes to hold multiple dinners on one night during Senior Week to give as many students the opportunity to participate as possible, Heilmeier said.
“This is the opportunity to provide the most options for students to have a dinner, but there will be other options in the future as well,” Heilmeier said.
Heilmeier said 12 dinner guests, including the host, is a good number because it allows people to get to know each other without being overwhelmed by the crowd.
However, it limits the number of attendees, so the association plans to hold more dinners throughout the next academic year.
The dinners will be paid for by the Alumni Association. None of the administrators and faculty are hosting dinners at their houses, but if they did, the association would offer to pay for catering or cooking supplies, Heilmeier said.
“It’s just easier for logistics to make sure that all the dinners go smoothly and that everyone has the resources they need,” Heilmeier said.
As an administrator of the Career and Leadership Development Center, Kimberly Blue, associate director for employer relations, said she is excited about the experience networking through this dinner will provide students.
“It’s kind of a blind date type situation, which I think could be fun,” Blue said.
“You have to use the skills that you have to connect and network…without being able to prepare.”
This will be the first “Dinner with 12 Strangers” Blue has hosted, and she said she looks forward to meeting students and hopes to reconnect with those she meets in the future.
“I like these types of events the more we allow students the opportunity to network with us (administrators and faculty),” Blue said. “This experience is developing a memory, and that means I’ll always have this memory.”
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If You Go:
MONDAY
Dinner with 12 Strangers
Various Athens Restaurants
Prior registration required
TUESDAY
Bobcat vs. Food
5:30 p.m.
Scripps Amphitheater
Free
Extreme on the Green
5-9 p.m.
South Beach
WEDNESDAY
Bobcat to Bobcat Panel
6-7:30 p.m.
Walter Hall 135
THURSDAY
Breakfast Bar
10 a.m.-noon
Multicultural Center
90s Night on the Green
4-7 p.m.
South Beach
FRIDAY
Visit your Alumni Association
Noon-4 p.m.
Konneker Alumni Center
Senior Special
7-9 p.m.
Pigskin Bar and Grille
