For nineteen years, the Oakland University Alumni Association (OUAA) has honored the achievements of OU Alumni for selflessly sharing their time, talent and treasure with Oakland University and the communities in which they work and live in.
At every Alumni Awards Banquet, recipients are honored for their hard work and dedication which they carried with them from Oakland. At this year’s banquet, many outstanding alumni received awards for leadership, outstanding service, fostering a sense of community and making a contribution to the world we live in.
The recipients are nominated for awards by their colleagues and peers. The nine individuals who receive them are recognized from many different facets of the community, from business to health care to science.
“As we all know, a thriving alumni program is essential to any major university and our programming and alumni engagement activities impact not only our alumni, but our current students as well,” Erin Sudrovech said, citing the generosity in giving back that the alumni recipients of this event had demonstrated.
This year, Tom Mittelbrun is the recipient of the Spirit Award, which commends exemplary volunteer service to the university. Mittelbrun received it for his contributions to OU students receiving alumni scholarships. His service to OU includes serving on the OUAA Board of Directors for seven years and on the scholarship committee with current board chair John Hruska. It was through this committee work that Mittlebrun saw potential for growing the golf outing, both in terms of participants and in scholarship donations.
“I value giving hard working young people a boost in life,” Mittelbrun said. “That is what the Alumni Association does when they provide numerous varieties of scholarships every year.”
The ceremony began with a short video and dinner served. Lauren Podell (CAS ‘08), anchor on Local 4 News, served as mistress of ceremonies. John Hruska, chair of the OUAA Board of trustees, spoke about the importance of everyone doing their part to give back to Oakland.
“Whether you choose to volunteer your time to assist with recruitment efforts through the Alumni Admissions Ambassador Program; advocate on behalf of OU when speaking to members of the community; or mentor current students, know that everything you do on behalf of your alma mater raises the value of your degree as well as the reputation of OU locally, throughout the region and across the nation.” Hruska said.
To learn more about how to get involved as an alumnus, go to www.oualumni.com.
By Rachel Montgomery, contributing writer