LTCC distinguished alumni

unedited 2/09 Tahoe Mt. News

By Kathryn Reed

Where are they now?
That’s the question Lake Tahoe Community College officials are asking. A college alumni association is being formed with the help of the LTCC Foundation so students can keep in touch with each other as well as with the college.
Thousands of people have come and gone from LTCC in the more than 30 years the school has been around. Alumni has a loose definition – anyone who has taken a class. Graduating is not a requirement to be an alum.
“We have so many talented students now that it would be a shame to lose contact with them,” LTCC President Paul Killpatrick said.
To kickoff the effort, a marketing campaign has been created with LT Nation the theme – ltnation.ning.com. Stickers, T-shirts and other paraphernalia with LT Nation are cropping up around town. The college also launched a fan page on Facebook last month.
LT Nation is about current and former students. The idea is to connect with students from the get-go, not just after they’ve left.
Melonie Guttry, LTCC Foundation executive director, expects the foundation to be the umbrella for the alumni association, much like the Lake Tahoe Education Foundation is for STHS grads. But she also anticipates students reconnecting with each other to plan their own gatherings.
“We are looking at refurbishing our student center. With that we could do a recognition wall of alumni,” Guttry said.
With names on a plague and explanations about what that person has done to be singled out, the theory is it will inspire current students to want to have that same recognition.
At graduation June 26 the first distinguished alumni award will be handed out. The foundation is accepting nominations through the end of the month. The person must have left LTCC five years ago, be giving back to their community and have some noteworthy success in their life.
A newsletter will be developed to keep alumni up-to-date about what is going on at the college. It’s possible when South Tahoe High has its alumni hoopla during homecoming in the fall that LTCC will try to reach its former students who are there.
School officials are not shy in acknowledging that as alumni are tracked down and their achievements documented, the information could be used as a way to promote the college to prospective students.
Three former students who have made a name for themselves in the film world along with a current student are helping spread the word about LT Nation. Nathan Garofalos is the man behind the camera. Ian Ruhter, Tim Peare and Kyle Schwartz are the stars of the short film that is expected to be wrapped up this month.
The promotional film is expected to get lots of Internet play. The college also hopes TransWorld Snowboarding picks it up – after all Ruhter is one of the magazines main photographers.