Who counts as a young alum
Anyone who finished a Porter degree in the last ten years. For 2026–27 that means the classes of 2016 through 2026, about 17,900 people. The class of 2016 holds its 10th reunion at Millrace Week this October and then, by long tradition, is told it is no longer young.
Young alumni live differently from other graduates. They move more, earn less, and many are still paying off loans. The council exists so the alumni program fits that life rather than one built around retirement luncheons.
The council
The council has 16 members who serve two-year terms. It meets six times a year, four of them online. Its chair holds a voting seat on the Alumni Association Board.
| Role | Name | Class and program | Lives in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chair | Jamal Whitby | ’22, Construction Management | Lake City |
| Vice chair | Ashlyn Moe | ’18, Software Engineering | The Cities |
| Career programs lead | Dominique Ferrell | ’20, Supply Chain Management | The Cities |
| Giving Day lead | Tyler Brekhus | ’17, Packaging | Bayport |
| City Starter lead | Hannah Okerstrom | ’24, Dietetics | Lake City |
| Ten-Year Toast co-chair | Luis Carbajal | ’16, Hospitality | Porter Falls |
| Recent-graduate representative | Sophie Lindahl-Vue | ’26, Nursing | Port Alder |
The other nine members are listed in the alumni section of MyPorter. The staff liaison is Tou Xiong, young alumni coordinator in Alumni Relations.
What the council runs
- First Five Years webinars. Three of the monthly noon webinars on the alumni events calendar are council-run. This year’s include using the alumni directory without being awkward about it.
- City Starter meetups. Each August the council hosts a casual evening in Lake City, the Cities and Bayport for new graduates who have just moved there and know nobody. Last August 212 people came, and at least one of them found a roommate.
- The Ten-Year Toast. The class of 2016’s reunion party on Friday, October 16, in the Depot District.
- The “Under Ten” Giving Day challenge. In April 2026, 612 people gave to Porter for the first time on Ironclad Giving Day, most of them recent graduates. The council’s 2027 goal is 900 young-alumni donors at any amount. Alumni from the 1980s have again put up a match.
- Near-peer mentoring. Council members recruit recent graduates for the alumni mentor network. Students often want to hear from someone two years ahead of them, not twenty.
Lower prices for recent graduates
| What | Young-alumni price | Regular price |
|---|---|---|
| Ironclad Club membership | $40 a year | $100 (Iron level) |
| Ironclad Club Golf Outing, June 7, 2027 | $95 | $125 |
| Class of 2016 reunion package | $55 | $85–$110 for other reunion classes |
| Alumni 5K at Millrace Week | $15 for the classes of 2016–2026 | $25 |
The rest of what every graduate keeps, from career coaching to the forwarding email address, is on alumni benefits and discounts.
Join the council
Eight seats open each spring. Applications are accepted from March 1 to April 1, 2027, for terms that start July 1. The application is one page: your class year and program, where you live, and a paragraph on what you would want the council to do that it is not doing now. Current members and the staff liaison choose new members in April, aiming for a mix of programs, cities and class years.
Members are asked to attend four of the six meetings, lead or help with one program, and give a gift of any size each year. The council’s own rule, borrowed from the board, is that $5 counts. Nobody is asked to fly anywhere.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. The Young Alumni Council, its members, programs and prices are invented; the people named here are not real graduates, and no roommate was found at any meetup.