Inside each community there are a certain number of sub-communities which comprise the whole. At its best, a community and its subgroups exist in symbiosis, with each group contributing to the community in a unique way.
However, for these relationships to be functional and beneficial, there is a need for moderators or liaisons between them. People in this role play an important part in maintaining community harmony and longevity.
One such person is Mackenzie Miller, who works for Central Michigan University as the associate director of alumni engagement.
Originally from Bad Axe, Miller first came to Mt. Pleasant to attend CMU. After a short stint away, Miller came back to Mt. Pleasant to assume her current position with CMU.
As both a member of the Mt. Pleasant community and a CMU alumna, Miller’s experiences have her uniquely poised to make a positive impact in this role.
“My overall job is a mix between alumni event planning and communication, as well as the online engagement aspect,” Miller says of her alumni relations work.
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Courtesy Mackenzie Miller
Alumni play a prominent role in funding the operations of a university, and while the actual writing of checks is important, so, too, is building relationships, Miller says.
“Sometimes, when I tell people I work for alumni relations, they think I am more of a fundraiser, but I really try to get across that I am much more of a ‘friend-raiser’—really building the connections [with alumni],” she explains.
Alumni support for the university is not without a return on investment. A portion of university students go on to become the next generation of Mt. Pleasant community members, as was the case with Miller, who has several coworkers who also stayed in Mt. Pleasant after graduating from CMU.
“I think that [says something] about CMU and Mt. Pleasant and the good feelings they bring, because all these people chose to keep living and working here,” shares Miller.
As someone who fits that profile, Miller is able to use her experiences to facilitate the relationship between the university and the community.
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Courtesy Mackenzie Miller
“What I love about this community is that everyone has a shared purpose,” she says. “Between CMU and Mt. Pleasant, I love that I get to experience both ends of that and see how they complement one another.”
Miller plays a key role in this complementary relationship, largely due to the depth of perspective she has on the university.
“In all my memories at CMU, I have gotten such a well-rounded perspective of it. Being on campus now, I can stand in one spot and recall a memory from my undergrad, as an alum, now through my graduate studies, and as faculty.”
For Miller, the best part about her career is the opportunity to provide support to current students in the creation of similarly powerful memories and experiences.
“What makes me so passionate about my role is to see the current student support that comes from the work of alumni relations,” she says. “When alumni do choose to give, a lot of the time, those gifts go into funds that directly support students … It’s really heartwarming to see that people understand that there’s that need [of support] for people on campus now.”
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Courtesy Mackenzie Miller
Since graduating, Miller has become an ideal case study in exemplifying the benefits of providing support to university students. In addition to her career endeavors, Miller is also a member of the Mt. Pleasant Jaycees, using her professional skills to play a key role in the fundraising necessary to bring the annual Mt. Pleasant Craft Beer Festival to life.
As with any good relationship, this has been mutually beneficial for both the community and Miller.
“The ability to live [in Mt. Pleasant] where I can participate in those has made such a huge difference in my professional growth,” she shares. “My networking and the people I know here has grown so much because of those committees that I’m involved in.”
At its core, Miller’s story is one of an extreme propensity to pay it forward. Working within the same mechanisms that supported her through college has allowed Miller to reflect that support back onto others.
Miller does so by maintaining relationships with alumni to acquire key funding, but just as importantly, she does so as a mentor.
“I get to work closely with our interns and student assistants and being able to mentor them and walk them through the steps to professional growth is one of more rewarding things I’ve gotten to experience,” Miller shares. “By the time their internship concludes, they’re walking out as a professional, and whoever gets them next is super lucky.”