10 Dinners for 12 Strangers on UNM's Birthday
The UNM Alumni Association sponsored its third annual "Dinner for 12 Strangers" on February 28 to bring students, faculty, and alumni together in celebration of UNM Lobo Day.
The "Dinner for 12 Strangers" program provides an opportunity for alumni to connect with UNM students and faculty. Local alumni are asked to host a dinner in their homes in an effort to make UNM a smaller, friendlier place. UNM students, alumni, and faculty come together as strangers and leave as friends.
This year, 10 dinners were hosted on one night "to foster 120 new friendships and mark UNM's 119th birthday. The dinner is a wonderful opportunity for students to network with professors and alumni and for UNM Lobos to get to know one another,” says UNM Alumni Association executive director Karen Abraham.
Each dinner consisted of four students, four faculty, and four alumni (allowing for a few no-shows from flu-sufferers) for a night of conversation and fun, topped off by a birthday cake from the UNM Alumni Association.
Read on for a few participant comments, including what they liked best about the evening, and refresh your browser for more fun photos.
Hosts:
- We loved hosting this group of UNM students, staff, and professors. We must have had the best group! (Editor’s Note: every group said the same thing.)
- There was such a diverse group of students.
- We had great conversations. We came together as strangers and left as friends.
- We exchanged email addresses.
Alumni:
- This was a really fun event. I was a little nervous at first but it was nice to meet all the different people.
- Meeting the students and alums—wonderful to hear about UNM from student perspective.
Student:
- I met people that are friends of my aunt and uncle. It was a great experience with the diversity. And the food was great!
- The people, conversation and food—wonderful idea and event!
Professor:
- Making connections with others in the UNM community. Everything was great. The UNM birthday cake was a great touch.