Alumni Who Serve

Thank you to Matthew Silberman ’17 for his article exposing the challenges students at Princeton face finding time to volunteer (Student Dispatch, March 2). The board of directors of Princeton AlumniCorps would like to point out that many Princeton alumni in fact go on to live lives that make manifest our unofficial school motto, “in the nation’s service and the service of all nations.” We hope that President Eisgruber ’83’s task force on civic engagement will find ways to leverage the significant civic work already being done by many Princeton alumni so that undergraduates appreciate the importance of making time for such important endeavors.

When looking at alumni civic engagement, we at AlumniCorps have a front-row seat. The mission of Princeton AlumniCorps is to inspire and build civic leadership among alumni across generations by engaging them in significant activities that influence and improve our society. We now offer, in addition to our celebrated fellowship program: (1) a mid-career nonprofit leadership-training program, Emerging Leaders; and (2) the opportunity for experienced Princeton alumni to apply and expand their professional skills at selected organizations through ARC Innovators. In a recent study we conducted of our alumni base, a whopping 100 percent of respondents remain engaged in civic activities and 60 percent work in civic fields.

Princetonians are serving in the nation’s service and the service of all nations, and we are thrilled to know Princeton AlumniCorps is one of many available avenues. We look forward to continuing the dialogue and seeing their impact broadly celebrated in future PAW issues.