Out of the Big Blue

By Alyssa Thornton

UK alumni clubs are helping to spread their pride for their alma mater all across the country!  This year 37 alumni clubs will serve their local communities during Cats for a Cause National Service Week, Oct. 1 – Oct. 10.

Cats for a Cause is a week each fall where UK alumni clubs organize and participate in service activities in their communities.

Look for your fellow UK Alumni as they volunteer at local humane societies, serve food to the needy at local soup kitchens, organize food and clothing drives and much more as part of Cats for a Cause. You may even be inspired to jump in and help, too!

To find out how you can help, or for more information about the clubs participating and the organizations they are serving, please visit www.ukalumni.net/service.

Take a look at how some of last year’s UK Alumni Clubs demonstrated their pride in blue and helped others through Cats for a Cause:

by Christina Noll

I was one of those rare students who knew exactly what I wanted to do in life from the moment I set foot on campus. At 18, I was already passionate about storytelling, and I declared my major right away. One of my first classes was Journalism 101 with David Dick. At the time he was director of the School of Journalism and Telecommunications and he made quite an impression.

With the news that he had passed away this summer, my friends and I were reminiscing about those early days at UK, when we all wanted to be the next Katie Couric or Tom Brokaw.  My friend Catherine remembers thinking it was cool that Professor Dick was an actual “expert” in what he was teaching. He would regale us with stories of covering civil wars in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala and then alternately talk about the book he had just written about rural life in Kentucky.  He never mentioned that he had won an Emmy for his coverage of the 1972 shooting of George Wallace—we found that out on our own. But the fact that he had real world experience made an impression on us all. He wasn’t just someone spouting off facts. He was an example of everything we aspired to be.

If you didn’t have the pleasure of knowing David Dick, as a student or personally, you may not know that in addition to being a UK faculty member for years, he received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from UK, started his career at WHAS Radio and TV in Louisville, worked 20 years for CBS, authored numerous books, established Plum Lick Publishing (along with his wife Lalie), and wrote a monthly column for Kentucky Living magazine for more than 20 years.

To celebrate David Dick, his contribution to UK students (like me!), and the outstanding example he provided, the School of Journalism and Telecommunications is establishing a memorial fund called the David Dick “What a Great Story” Storytelling Fund. It will recognize one UK student journalist and one Kentucky professional journalist each year for outstanding journalistic storytelling. What a great way to remember Professor Dick. I know I think of him, and Journalism 101, every time I do an interview.

Know someone who would make a great future Wildcat? The UK Visitor Center helps potential students explore all UK has to offer through informative sessions and personal campus tours. UK senior and Visitor Center guide, Chris “Bo” Milburn is just one of the friendly faces you’ll meet when you schedule a tour.

Amy Jones of UK Public Relations takes a personal look at Milburn’s role, along with everything you need to know about the UK Visitor Center in her article: Helping Future Wildcats “see blue.”

The article contains a video that explains why a campus tour is so important. Watch the video here: .

By Jill Smith

We always enjoy seeing our alumni club leaders and this year was no exception! Sept. 10 – 11, the UK Alumni Association welcomed 50 alumni club leaders to campus for the annual Alumni Club Leadership Training Conference.

During the conference, the club representatives heard presentations from association staff, members of the board of directors and campus representatives.  Friday afternoon’s training session featured round table discussions on the topics of young alumni and diversity, communications, event planning and student recruitment.  During lunch on Friday, we all enjoyed hearing from Matthew Mitchell, UK Women’s Basketball Coach, who praised our club leaders for the work they do for their alma mater.

President Lee T. Todd Jr. and his wife, Patsy, pose with the 2010 scholarship recipients.

The highlight of the weekend was the Scholarship and Club Awards Dinner held at the Lexington center.  Twenty-two different UK Alumni Clubs were recognized with awards for their accomplishments during the 2009-10 academic year.  2010-11 alumni association and club scholarship winners were also honored.  We were thrilled to have UK President Lee T. Todd Jr., with us to address the crowd.  He discussed the launch of the President’s Scholarship Initiative and shared his story about receiving a scholarship to the University of Kentucky.

We ended the evening with dancing to sounds from “Burning Las Vegas.”  All club leaders were invited to join the association’s Board of Directors meeting on Saturday.  Dr. Michael Karpf, Executive Vice President of Health Affairs, was on hand to give us an inside look at the new UK Chandler Hospital.

The UK Alumni Association sincerely appreciates the hard work and dedication our alumni club leaders devote to leading the alumni in their local area!

A brand new Garden Shelter sits just outside the King Alumni House. The innovative, sustainable transist shelter features living plants, including a grass rooftop. It's part of "Art in Motion" by LexArts.

Photo by Jeff Hounshell

by Christina Noll

It’s that time of year when fall festivals abound. Today marks the beginning of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival and brings delicious food and great entertainment for the next six days. My family will especially enjoy the hot air balloons lighting up the Nelson County Fairgrounds tonight.

It might seem odd to celebrate bourbon, but as Kentuckians, this particular spirit is an important part of our heritage. That’s exactly what Tom Troland, physics and astronomy professor at UK, thought when he suggested a local distillery as a possible topic for an oral history project with the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky Libraries.

As a volunteer on the project, Tom conducted interviews with master distillers, employees and descendants of founding members at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort. He worked closely with Doug Boyd, director of the Louie B. Nunn Center, as well as a videographer, other Nunn Center staff and associates at Buffalo Trace, to bring the project to fruition. After more than two years of compilation, the work now serves as a virtual time capsule of memories for future generations.  Watching the interviews gives you a unique opportunity to learn about the history of the bourbon industry from the people who lived it. You can learn more about this fascinating research and view the video interviews on the Nunn Center website.

If you’re a history buff like me, you should visit www.nunncenter.org and check out the amazing collection of nearly 8,000 oral history interviews. Topics are wide-ranging from Appalachia, politics, veterans’ stories, as well as documenting important Kentucky traditions such as the horse, coal and bourbon industries. The center offers oral history instruction by its staff or group workshops, when requested. I walked over to meet them and can personally attest to their friendliness and willingness to help you with anything!

by Kelli Elam

It’s a big weekend on campus. The Wildcats host Western Kentucky Saturday evening at Commonwealth Stadium. I don’t know about you, but I love night football games in the fall. I expect fans to be ready for the Cats’ home opener. But before the tailgating and football fun on Saturday, on Friday evening UK Athletics will induct the 2010 Class into its Hall of Fame.

Six diverse and deserving former Wildcats will be added to the list of greats that make the University of Kentucky tradition so special. This year’s inductees are the late Mike Casey, men’s basketball; Steve Flesch, men’s golf; Nancy Napolski Johnson, rifle; Billy Ray Lickert, men’s basketball; Valerie McGovern Young, cross country, and Tayshaun Prince, men’s basketball.  The new class of inductees will also be recognized during halftime of the football game Saturday.

Each of us can probably relate to one particular member of the 2010 Class of inductees. For me, it’s definitely Tayshaun Prince.  There are many great memories from his playing time here  at UK (1999-2002), but two particular moments stand out the most to me  — his brilliant 41 point performance against Tulsa in the second round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament, and of course, the way he made it rain with five straight three’s against North Carolina in Rupp Arena. It was something to behold. It started innocently enough with the first trey he hit. That was followed by another, then another, then another, and another. The last one seemed to come from barely over the half court line. It was one of those “Oh No!” followed by “Yes!” moments as the ball calmly swooshed through the net. I don’t think I have ever heard Rupp Arena as loud! I’m glad I got to be there and see it happen.

Congrats to all the new inductees. You’ve helped make Big Blue Nation strong and proud. For more information about the UK Athletics Hall of Fame, visit www.ukathletics.com

by Caroline Francis

As summer comes to a close, consider recommitting to your job search efforts. These are some guidelines to help keep you on track with your search.

1. Spend at least 25 hours each week on job search activities.
2. Review your resume. Does it need some updating?
3. Update your LinkedIn profile.
4. Find a new LinkedIn group related to your field. Join and actively participate in the discussions.
5. Email former co-workers to update them on your search efforts.
6. Schedule two networking meetings per week. Coffee shops are a good place to meet or at their places of employment. You bring the coffee or muffins.
7. Apply for three jobs each week that may not be open or advertised. Target the hiring department manager and let them know how you could help with their current needs. Do your research first. Follow-up.
8. Schedule at least one informational interview each week.
9. Follow-up with employes that you may have interviewed with but did not get the job. Perhaps they have additional needs or the person hired for the job did not work out.
10. Get out of the house. Find a new networking group to join.

For more information, follow Caroline’s blog at http://careercat.blogspot.com/