“I would eventually like to give something back, though, because (MSU) has given so much to me during the past four years,” Hodyna said.

Because of decreasing alumni memberships, campus groups are thinking of new ways to keep the connection between graduates and their alma mater.

The MSU Alumni Association created the Young Alumni Initiative to bring more of these graduates into the alumni organizations.

“We are not going to be big donors, but we can give time and energy and excitement to the university,” said Kim Kittleman, director of alumni relations for the MSU Alumni Association and a 1998 MSU graduate.

Kittleman worked specifically on researching whether there was a disconnection between recent graduates and the MSU Alumni Association.

“As we called across the country to different Division I universities, we saw they had similar trends,” Kittleman said.

The Young Alumni Initiative was created five years ago to investigate and try to re-engage alumni who graduated within the last 10 years.

“Being involved in an alumni association is much more than a membership card,” Kittleman said. “It is about contacts, relationships and career counseling.”

Since its inception in October, Kittleman said the initiative has managed to increase membership slightly. Currently, the alumni association has more than 44,000 members worldwide.

Getting students connected to the alumni association early increases the likelihood they will donate or help current students with jobs later in life, said Bob Thomas, director of annual giving and marketing programs.

MSU alumni started their own committee out of the initiative last spring dedicated to getting younger alumni more involved.

Liz Combs, a 2007 MSU graduate, already has joined the MSU Alumni Association.

She just moved to San Antonio and said it will be comforting to have a link with other MSU alumni in the area.

“MSU was the best experience of my life and it’s hard to give up,” Combs said. “I wanted to stay connected.”

Recent graduates, such as Combs and Hodyna, make up the age group alumni associations seek out.

“MSU administrators had a meeting with all the alumni associations earlier in the year, and our committee was created to target that demographic,” said Ken Williams, a 1996 graduate and co-chairman of the Young Alumni Committee.

The committee puts on events to attract younger alumni — they already have hosted a social event by renting out a theater in metro Detroit, Williams said.

“It’s a brand new technique from the standpoint of getting current students involved with the Alumni Association so when they graduate they will know what we have to offer,” Williams said.

“Being a part of an alumni association gives graduates the chance to network and the knowledge that you have contacts with people nationally and internationally who share the similar experience as being an MSU graduate.”

In late November, the committee is planning a holiday bowl-a-thon and both current students and alumni are welcome, Williams said.

Even with these new events, some current MSU students said they don’t know what an alumni association could offer.

“There isn’t enough information about it on campus,” said Rachel Jones, a psychology senior.

Both Jones and her friend, Annie Matouka, an urban and regional planning senior, said they haven’t gotten any information about the association.

Jones said she would be more likely to join the alumni association in the future if she was approached by the association now rather than after she graduated.

Katie Copple, the Student Alumni Foundation’s president, said the organization also will be targeting recent graduates.

In February, the foundation has a student alumni networking dinner at Spartan Stadium for current students to learn from the experiences of MSU graduates.

“With all the new technology, it’s always nice to have alumni who just graduated in regards to knowing what employees are looking for today,” Copple said.

Tara Thoel can be reached at thoeltar@msu.edu.