Does your alma mater matter? For me, it does! I recently reconnected with three important McGill University alumni in my life.
I was travelling for my first in-person speaking tour in Nanaimo, BC. Because I had flexibility on my flights, I decided to make time for important friends.
I first saw Maureen Curran, my lifelong best friend, who I met in a McGill Savoy Society musical. If I could choose the greatest thing I got from McGill, it was her friendship and connection. I spent two days with her in Vancouver, including watching the hockey game sevens with her partner Kev too.
Second, I knew Andrew Green, my Gardner Hall residence buddy and fellow chem lab group colleague, had moved to North Vancouver. I invited him to join us for the day. We had reconnected in Montreal at a McGill 25th reunion before the pandemic, so we became close again. He and Maureen actually knew each other from my bi-weekly calls during the pandemic to stay sane, but they never met in person. It was great because he’s an environmental scientist and she’s a climate activist, so the discussion was powerful.
Then of course I had a stopover in Calgary on the way back so I made it four hours long to spend time with Angie Alexander, my old mechanical engineering friend. We stayed in touch via Facebook. More recently, she asked me to help her with transitioning into coaching. Soon we started doing a coaching collective together. Now she is my teammate in the Thought Leadership Branding Club, which helps businesses and brands build and monetize their thought leadership especially via social audio (e.g. Clubhouse). So I made visiting her a priority.
I’ve learned during the pandemic that a 100% extrovert like me doesn’t need 100+ people around all the time. A few meaningful connections and people close to my heart fulfills me.
These alma mater connections are always going to matter to me. We share stories, experiences and it propels our work.