Finally Finding Those “Lost” Friends

Written by Doug Goodnough

If you’re like me, you have some “lost” friends out there.

These are people who you were once very close with, but somehow they have fallen off the radar over the years. What are they doing now? What do they look like?

That definitely is the case with some friends during my Hillsdale College undergraduate days. College is where you start with a core of friends, and then expand into a very large contingent of folks by the time you graduate. Over those four years, social interactions both in and out of the classroom add up, and people who you befriend during those times burn brightly, albeit sometimes briefly. Graduation comes, and you go your separate ways.

Social media has certainly helped bridge some of that gap. Facebook and the like have been an invaluable tool in allowing me to reconnect with old friends, including those at Hillsdale College. But there are still a few who have “slipped through the cracks.”

Soon, the Alumni Office may be able to help our alumni find those “lost” classmates and friends. We have been working with the College on a new online directory that allows alumni to connect with other alumni through the help of our database. Of course, alumni must first agree to opt into the process, but the hope is the directory will be a new alumni tool we can offer. Look for that announcement sometime in 2024.

However, in the meantime, if you want to reconnect with classmates, the Alumni Office does its best to provide many opportunities to do so. Here are a few:

• We are in the process of relaunching our Alumni Ambassador Program, so you may be receiving communications from your fellow classmates very soon about College events and happenings. Ambassadors may be able to help you make those connections with former classmates.
• Alumni National Tour events are also a great way to reconnect. It’s always fun at these events to watch alumni unexpectedly reconnect. Many times they had no idea who lived in their region. We’ve even had alumni find out they worked in the same BUILDING and never knew. You’re welcome.
• We have established some regional alumni chapters and have plans to expand our outreach into other regions of the country. Right now, we have chapters in Phoenix, Denver, Chicago, and Lansing.
• Finally, our “signature” campus events each year are Homecoming and White & Blue Weekend. The latter is one that I cannot recommend enough. This year, White & Blue is scheduled from June 27-30. The idea of moving it from May to June is to open up our alumni base with school-age children. Imagine spending more than three days on campus participating in all sorts of activities and events in a very relaxed setting. It’s basically an extended Homecoming and is a great opportunity to foster reunions of all kinds.

Let 2024 be the year that you finally make the effort to reconnect with your “lost” Hillsdale friends. I promise, you won’t regret it. And we’re here to help!

Doug Goodnough, ’90, is Hillsdale’s director of Alumni Marketing. He enjoys connecting with fellow alumni in new and wonderful ways.

Published in January 2024