SCA Alums Gather for Fall Events in NYC, DC, San Francisco & Chicago
Over the past month, SCA brought together more than 100 SCA alums in a series of fall alumni engagement events across the country. From New York City to San Francisco, from Chicago to Washington DC, SCA alums gathered to reconnect and spend time together enjoying the spectacular public lands in their urban communities.
SCA kicked off the fall alumni events with a Veterans Day tour of Governors Island in New York Harbor. On November 11th, 36 NYC alums boarded a special ferry to the island for a behind-the-scenes tour of the site’s military history – and a sneak peek at The Hills, set to open to the public in Summer 2016. While on the island, alums pitched in to lay the foundations for a new greenhouse nursery at the urban farm, which will allow park staff to grow seedlings sustainably on site.
Two weeks later, on November 21st, a dozen SCA alumni came out to Baker Beach in San Francisco for a guided hike of the “Batteries to Bluffs” Trail. Led by Alumni Council member Jean Bartholomew, the group took in spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge and rocky coastline, before ending the day with a picnic on the beach. “It was so great to see alums find connections!” said Jean. “Two participants found out that they had had the same SCA crew leaders in Yosemite, on crews a year apart!”
Meanwhile, the same weekend in Chicago, the city’s largest snowfall in 120 years couldn’t keep 27 SCA alums from coming out for a special tour of Pullman National Monument – Chicago’s first unit in the National Park system. Historic Pullman Foundation Director Mike Shymanski took the group through Pullman’s history and behind the scenes of Market Square, Greenstone United Methodist Church, and Hotel Florence. The tour was followed by lunch and the graduation of SCA Chicago’s first all-female crew, during which SCA’s newest alumni spoke about how their time on the crew gave them the opportunity to learn new skills, make new friends, and – for many – find a new direction in life. “What a perfect day to kick off SCA’s Chicago Alumni Events,” said alum Uma Costanza. “First snow, and first event at Chicago’s first national park!”
A month of fall alumni events concluded in December, when SCA’s Alumni Council members came together from across the country for their annual meeting in DC. The Council had a packed weekend of brainstorming and planning, focused on how the Council will help to engage SCA alumni nationwide over the coming year. But they also took some time out for fun, as 30 local alumni (including DC’s SCA Centennial Volunteer Ambassadors) joined the Alumni Council on Friday for an SCA Alumni Happy Hour to network, reconnect, and build excitement for SCA in 2016.
Are you an SCA alum looking to reconnect with SCA in your city? Stay tuned for upcoming events in your area this winter at www.thesca.org/events.
