Committee for Young Alumni
The Committee for Young Alumni (CYA) is here to help young alumni* connect, continue their intellectual journey, and collaborate in their post-Reed lives in meaningful and relevant ways. The CYA works on projects connecting young alumni with Reed and with each other and helps them get their bearings in their careers, passions, and the broader world.
Daydreaming about how Reed used to be? Thoughts about what Reed could be? We're here to help you find a role in the Reed alumni community. Whether you're a giver or you need a helping hand, we want to make Reed an ongoing resource in your intellectual life and community as you navigate the world as a recent graduate.
We recognize that alumni graduating in the current political, economic, and ecological climates are vulnerable and may need a hand—we've been there. This committee of the Alumni Board is here to connect you with the resources you need, whatever that might be.
*Young alumni refers to alumni who are 10 years or less out from Reed.
CYA's Communities of Purpose Pathfinder Initiative
Are you a recent alum who hasn’t quite figured out what to do, career-wise? The Committee for Young Alumni’s Pathfinder Initiative is aimed at helping you figure this out! Building off of the Community of Purpose advising model used at Reed, the CYA’s Communities of Purpose Pathfinder Initiative pairs you with an alumni volunteer in a specific community of purpose to discuss career options. As these Pathfinders (alumni volunteers) are just a few years ahead of you, they can offer recent experience and advice for a constantly changing world.
Know what you want to do, career-wise, but not sure how to get there? Then the Alumni Career Coach program is for you. Get in touch with an Alumni Career Coach here.
Pathfinder Initiative Details
Reedies have many options open to them after Reed. They can pursue a specific career, build skills and a network in a relatively broad field, earn an advanced degree, or even strike out on their own entrepreneurial journey. The Center for Life Beyond Reed uses a helpful framework to group lots of different types of practice—the “what” of a career—into unified Communities of Purpose—the “why” of these careers.
Who could be better to advise and provide context on what careers are possible for young alumni than Reedies just a few years into their own career journey? The goal of the Communities of Purpose Pathfinders Initiative is to provide easy access to recent Reed graduates who can share their perspective on the various opportunities and paths that exist in their chosen Community of Purpose, so that even more recent alumni can benefit from their experience.
Volunteer to be a Pathfinder
Are you 5–10 years out from Reed, have a few years career experience, and would like to volunteer to be a Pathfinder? We need your help! And we promise it's easy. Email alumni@reed.edu to get connected.
Communities of Purpose
- Arts & Expression
- Citizenship & Community Living
- Education & Human Potential
- Entrepreneurship & Business Strategy
- Globalization & Diplomacy
- Healthcare & the Cure of Illness
- Investing & Financial Responsibility
- Research, Tech, & Innovation
- Sustainable Life on Earth
- Trades & Craftsmanship
Young Alumni Resources
Check out the Reed Career Alliance to learn about other resources available to alumni.
Who's on the committee? Can I join?
The CYA is made up of young alumni and those invested in helping to create and perpetuate a thriving Reed alumni community beyond the Reed bubble. The committee is currently led by Laramie Van Duzer Silber '13, and includes representatives from Reed's Alumni Relations and Volunteer Engagement team and a few Alumni Board members, but most of us are just alumni volunteers interested in helping our fellow Reedies. We have meetings every other month, work on projects between those meetings, and come together to review and plan for the year at the Forum for Advancing Reed. Please reach out to the Alumni Relations and Volunteer Engagement team if you'd like to join us!
How can I help?
Thanks for wanting to get involved! Informally, Reedies can be great resources for young alumni by:
- Providing advice, housing opportunities, job opportunities, and more on Reed Switchboard.
- Keeping in touch with current students through your favorite student groups.
- Talking Reedies through job applications.
- Donating to the Reed Food Pantry, Reed-sponsored grants and fellowships, and other programs you valued as a student.
- Volunteering to be a CYA referral within a Community of Purpose.
- Connecting with other alumni via regional Reed Alumni Chapters.
If you want to get involved directly with the CYA (and we'd love to have you!), please reach out to alumni@reed.edu. The alumni office will let you know what we're currently working on and when we'll be meeting next.
Have questions?
Contact the Alumni Relations and Volunteer Engagement team at alumni@reed.edu or 503-777-7589 for more information or to join us.