On Saturday, November 24, 2018, the Faculty of Business Administration at Mainz University of Applied Sciences held this year’s graduation ceremony. At the Electoral Palace in Mainz, the graduates received their diplomas and celebrated the successful completion of their studies together. The graduation ceremony is the moment when graduates become alumni—so it’s not a farewell, but the start of a new chapter. Alumnity e.V. is present there every year to welcome new alumni and invite them to get involved. This year, the graduates even had the chance to become members of the association for one year free of charge. During the ceremony, Alumnity e.V. once again presented the Kurt Dörr Award for outstanding dedication to the Department of Economics. This year’s award went to “the good fairy of the AStA office,” Ms. Barbara Pichler. She was honored for her many years of dedication as “a key pillar of support for students in the Department of Economics who are active in the AStA or Stupa,” which for her “has always been—and continues to be—a source of great joy.” Ms. Pichler also manages the so-called “Exam Exchange,” which many students have certainly taken advantage of during their time at the university. The decision to award the Kurt Dörr Prize to Ms. Pichler was met with loud applause from the guests. The Stupa/AStA Executive Board also took the opportunity to thank Ms. Pichler for her many years of dedication with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and to congratulate her on the award.   Dear graduates, we extend our warmest congratulations on your graduation! And we hope you’ll stay connected with us! www. Alumnity.de

The “Alumnity Meets” get-together took place on November 15, 2018, at the Hasekaste Restaurant near the Mainz soccer stadium. In addition to a few alumni, this time the event was attended primarily by current students, which may have been due to the proximity to campus. The lively conversations have convinced us to continue this event next year as well.

On October 16, 2018, the event “Alumnity Presents” took place at Café Raab in Mainz-Gonsenheim, organized by Alumnity. The goal of the event was to give guests a better understanding of networking. With 51 attendees, the event was very well received. The panel of experts—consisting of Prof. Dr. Koeder, agency head Michael Raab, and the second-place winner of GNTM 2018, Julianna Townsend—provided both theoretical input and compelling practical insights. The event was moderated by the association’s chairwoman, Claudia Huberti. Prof. Dr. Kurt Koeder spoke very animatedly about his positive experiences with handwritten Christmas cards and spontaneous get-togethers over coffee. It quickly became clear just how much experience the former university professor had gained throughout his professional career. Michael Raab, agency head at Komdes, spoke about a lot of hard work and systematic preparation. Julianna Townsend spoke about her very personal experiences in the field of social media. The panel of experts agreed on one thing: networking is not a one-time event, but an ongoing process. Following the panel discussion, guests had the opportunity to ask the experts questions. A big thank you goes to: Prof. Dr. Koeder, Michael Raab, and Julianna Townsend for their willingness to enrich the association and its guests with their knowledge.

On Monday, October 15, 2018, Alumnity invited former professors to a “get-together” with coffee and cake at the department. Although they are now enjoying their well-deserved retirement, their interest in the department and its developments continues. The tour of the observation lab, led by Mr. Tobias Scholz, provided insights into the latest technical developments and their application in teaching. Alumnity was very pleased with the positive feedback afterward and especially delighted that two of the former professors spontaneously decided to become members.

Alumnity was there again! This year, the annual summer party for staff, teaching assistants, and professors at the Department of Economics took place on June 21, 2018. Once again, the association’s “ice cream donation” was gratefully received.

On June 6, 2018 , “Company Day” took place on the campus of Mainz University of Applied Sciences. Alumnity was represented there by its chairwoman, Claudia Huberti; students Laura Burkhart and Franziska Bruch; and master’s graduates Dominik Schreiber and Soufiane El-Bali . Thanks to the event, the association was able to recruit 17 new members!

On Tuesday, May 29, 2018, Alumnity met at the "Turm" restaurant in Budenheim.
Amid summery temperatures and delicious food, everyone networked enthusiastically. In addition, a small token of appreciation was presented to our three outgoing board members.

On Monday, May 14, 2018, the student members of Alumnity met for the first time. For nearly two years now, students have been able to join the association for free, and it’s very important to us to stay in touch with these members. Over strawberry cake, those in attendance cheerfully shared how they came to join Alumnity and offered interesting suggestions. The event perfectly captured the association’s core philosophy: Alumnity offers opportunities for NETWORKING: this means we want to enable students to make and maintain contacts—and perhaps even use them for their future careers. We were delighted that some of our new members were first-semester students! Through friendly conversations, they were also able to benefit from the knowledge of students in higher semesters. Don’t miss the chance to develop a connection to the university that goes beyond your day-to-day studies.

On Friday, April 13, 2018 , this year’s general meeting of “ ” took place. The guided tour of Mainz’s historic taverns, originally planned by the “Geography for All” association, was canceled due to the guide’s illness. But there was a great alternative! By a lucky coincidence, a colleague from the university who also works for “Geography for Everyone” was able to step in. She led us on a tour titled “Mainz: Legends and Truths.” After a tour lasting about 1.5 hours—which was partly accompanied by rain but all the more informative for it—we made our way to the restaurant “Mexiko Lindo.” There, we enjoyed a welcome drink to recharge and had the opportunity to satisfy our hunger. Then the official part of the general meeting began. Among other things, this year’s agenda included the election of new board members. Three vacant board positions were filled: We welcome Patrick Scharinger (student) as treasurer, as well as Dominik Schreiber (Master’s graduate) and Julian Mildner (student) as board members, and we look forward to a constructive collaboration with them. We would also like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt thanks to Joachim von Trützschler, Christian Nagel, and Christian Bernhart for their many years of service on the board! Once the agenda was concluded, there was finally an opportunity to network and get to know one another! Thank you very much to all the members who attended! We look forward to seeing you again at one of our upcoming events.

On Sunday, January 28, 2018, around 10:30 a .m., we gathered once again for our annual New Year’s reception. This year, the 36 members and guests in attendance enjoyed a varied and delicious breakfast at the Barbarossa Bakery. Amid lively conversations, everyone had the chance to discuss the first few days of the new year as well as the upcoming 2018 club year. Around 1:00 p.m., the group headed over to the Mainz Carnival Museum across the street. This small, richly detailed museum is located in the basement of the Proviantamt and is sure to make the hearts of not just true Mainz locals beat faster. The tour began with a presentation of some historical facts, such as the origins of organized Carnival in Mainz. Afterward, all guests were given plenty of time to explore the exhibits on their own. Authentic “Schwellköpfe” (traditional carnival hats) are on display there, along with numerous guard uniforms, medals, old issues of the carnival newspaper, admission tickets, songbooks from past sessions, parade badges, and much more. A special highlight are the caps that every visitor is allowed to try on. On the floor in the entrance area, a large map shows the streets through which the Carnival parade will once again wind its way this year. Many great photos were then taken on stage as souvenirs. Some of the exhibits can be viewed on film, such as various parades from before World War II and the first ones afterward. The footage of the televised shows featuring Ernst Neger and the young Margit Sponheimer is also particularly lovely: you could see just how captivated the audience was by Carnival even back then. A highlight came when it was revealed that one of the Alumnity members in attendance is Ernst Neger’s grandson. We hope our guests enjoyed this kickoff to the upcoming carnival season. With that in mind, a triple thunderous “Helau” to mark the start of the Alumnity Association’s 2018 year.