ARE YOU A CONSUMER OR INVESTOR?
How will you see your relationship with
Trinity after you graduate? Will you
have warm feelings? Will you want to
continue to be part of Trinity? Or will
you think of your alma mater as just
another place you lived while you were earning a necessary credential?
People have a wide range of feelings
about the schools they’ve attended. Some
are fiercely loyal and proud of their association. Others are indifferent, and some actively
dislike the places where they studied.
These reactions often are more emotional than rational, but the emotions
we feel about “our” universities can be the product of the way we perceive the
relationship rather than the result of an unusually good or bad experience.
It seems to be increasingly common for
graduates to think of education as a commodity.
The students are consumers of this commodity, and the universities are
the merchants. Viewed in this light, the
relationship is just a business transaction.
These students attend “better” schools (schools with a better
reputation), not because the schools are really “better” for them, but because
it serves the purposes of the student (more job opportunities, higher social
status, better starting pay, etc.). If
you’re one of these students, you see Trinity as you would see any seller of
services, and you’re unlikely to understand why you would care anything about
the University after you receive your services (education) and your goods (a
diploma). You don’t have warm feelings about
Wal-Mart, so why care about Trinity?
Some of us – I confess to being one of
these people – don’t view education in this way, and certainly don’t see our
relationship with Trinity as a long-finished business transaction. We feel more like investors in Trinity than
consumers. True, I paid my money and
received my diploma, but I put a lot of myself into Trinity as a student and
alumnus, and I’ve received a lot more from our University than a diploma. That diploma, by the way, has grown more and
more valuable since I graduated as Trinity’s reputation has continued to expand
in many good ways.
If you want your “investment” in
Trinity to grow, always think of yourself as a part-owner, and not just a
one-time consumer. Whatever you do with
the rest of your life, you’ll always be a Trinity graduate. If you continue to invest your time, energy,
and support in our school – whether you do it out of love or for more
utilitarian reasons – you’ll see your investment paying rich dividends for a
lifetime.
Geary Reamey
Alumni Sponsor
Alumni Sponsor
