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A "Family" in 50 States

David Carradini (Bachelor in Sacred Theology '97), the alumni representative in the USA, is at the head of a list containing more than 800 names of graduates. Present in all the 50 States, the U.S. Alumni community is the oldest international branch of the Association. In fact, the universities of this country served as a model for the Alumni Association of the University of Navarra, since in Spain there were no precedents for this kind of organization, whose objective is to extend the University experience beyond Graduation Day, and forge long-lasting links with the graduates.

One Graduate, One Embassy

The high average age and the distance that separate the 50 alumni members in Portugal did not prevent Xurdana Peña (Law '95) from founding a Regional Chapter in 2000. A meeting of the representatives of the IESE was the ideal opportunity for bringing the Portuguese alumni together for the first time, most of whom come from the north of this Iberian country. Regional chapters of this sort are becoming more common in Europe, now that 23.3% of the Alumni Association members who live abroad reside in the Old Continent.

With an International Spirit

The alumni of the IESE whom she came to know thanks to contacts with two Catalan businesses inspired her to come to the Barcelona campus of the Business School of the University. "For me, they were a model, and because of them I decided to attend the IESE instead of another European or American school”, recounted Myra Yu (MBA '99) of Shanghai. Part of the tapestry that connects the more than 30,000 graduates of the School of Business passes through her native city, on its way to connect a total of 95 countries around the world.

The Internet Breaks Down Frontiers

The Alumni family of Honduras is made up of 20 members who get along very well together. Mauricio Villeda (Law '01), their representative, notes that while work, the ‘other’ family and their geographic position make their reunions difficult, when they get together they take advantage of their time to the maximum, “in order to keep one another ‘up to date’ about any news”. In their meetings they talk about ongoing projects, and remember their days on the campus “always with a certain nostalgia”, he comments.

Text: Paula Marco Villate y María Salanova / Image: Shutterstock