UNM alumni are opening up their homes to 12 strangers.
“Dinner with 12 Strangers” began about six years ago to better connect alumni and students.
This year, former students will host 10 dinners will be hosted in their own homes, said Sue MacEachen, the program coordinator at the Alumni Association.
“There is no agenda for the dinner,” she said. “It is just casual conversation. The intent is that the group will have one thing in common, which is some type of connection to the University.”
The annual event has had about 75 to 100 participants each year. All the dinners will be held throughout Thursday, Friday and Saturday at different houses.
Attendees can’t select which dinner they attend, unless a day is restricted for them. This allows the dinners to have a large range of people, MacEachen said. Students, faculty, and alumni applied in early February to attend the dinners by contacting MacEachen. It was on a first-come, first-serve basis and students can still apply.
MacEachen said they try to coordinate the homemade dinners as close to UNM’s birthday as possible.
“This year the birthday is on Sunday,” she said. “Each host will get a birthday cake to give as the dessert. Students can meet professors that are not all in the same department. The idea is to have different people meet each other and learn from them.”
Laura Kelley, the alumni relations officer at Anderson School of Management, attended a dinner last year.
“It is a really great opportunity to meet people in the community and on campus,” Kelley said. “We talked about food, the University, and some alumni even shared some stories from when they were students. It’s fun to see the different perspectives that people have on UNM.”
The hosts are all volunteers, MacEachen said. The only funding given is for the birthday cake.
“It is an easy way to get involved. It doesn’t require a lot of attention besides being able to carry a conversation. It is really light hearted, with no obligation. I think people should really take advantage of the program because there is a lot to gain,” Kelley said.
Ryan Lindquist has attended dinners in the past, and is hosting one this year. Lindquist is the associate director of student activities.
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“I’ve been to three dinners and all of them have been great,” he said. “It is a great opportunity to get connected with people that you don’t know. Every person there has gone or is attending UNM. It is nice to have that common ground.”
He said anyone with spare time should sign up for a dinner.
“I highly suggest the opportunity,” Lindquist said, “It is 10 times better to sit and share stories and to make connections than to just stay at home, as long as your evening is open.”
To attend a dinner, e-mail Sue at Smac14@unm.edu
