The Barry University Student Alumni Association (BUSAA) is made up of a proud group of students who work to engage future graduates with the Alumni Association. The ROI on their hard work is a deeper connection and network with Barry alumni so students can gain professional knowledge, networking opportunities, and personal development along their paths to graduation. But leading this group can be quite a task—especially when there are no networking or pep events to plan, as has been the case during the pandemic. We asked Tarang Patel (former BUSAA president) and Angela Goehl (current president) to compare notes about their experiences as head of BUSAA.
We asked Tarang Patel (former BUSAA president) and Angela Goehl (current president), to compare notes about their experiences as head of the BUSAA.
Q. What made you decide to go for the role of BUSAA president?
Angela: To be honest, BUSAA was inactive due to COVID-19, and I kind of fell into the role.
Tarang: I have been a part of BUSAA since my freshmen year in 2012. The opportunities and access I have had to alumni and alumni events made me want to stay in the organization. Prior presidents made it a very welcoming and fun place to be. During my junior year, there was a lot of restructuring going on within Barry, and BUSAA was kind of placed on the back burner. I took over the role because I wanted to bring BUSAA back to its former glory and make it even better.
Q. What were your goals going into the presidency?
Angela: My initial goal was just to make BUSAA active again. After it was active, my goal was to help alums connect with current students and vice versa. I want students to engage with the university so that once they are alumni, they feel a stronger connection to their alma mater.
Tarang: First was rebranding, restructuring, and reorganizing so everyone knew what was expected of each position. For BUSAA, the goal was to find students that would best represent the student population at alumni events. I wanted to be more involved in student events instead of focusing only on alumni events. That’s where Bucky’s Crew came in. Bucky’s Crew, which was a subcategory within BUSAA at the time, had very few members. I wanted to change that and grow it into the big student sections we once had at sporting events.
Q. What were some of the challenges you faced?
Angela: The biggest challenges I faced were the inactive status of the club and COVID-19 restrictions. It can be hard to activate a group and plan events when the entire world is in lockdown.
Tarang: The first challenge we faced was paperwork. Doing all the paperwork while everything was being restructured at Barry was difficult at times. Getting funding was the next hurdle. Luckily BUSAAhad a small budget from the Alumni Association, so we were able to get some shirts and materials for the club.
Q. What was the event or accomplishment that made you most proud? And why?
Angela: The event that I’m most proud of would probably have to be Game Night. It was BUSAA’s first official event after being inactive for over a year, and we had more than 40 students show up with close to 10 alums. It was very rewarding to see all the hard work pay off.
Tarang: The accomplishment that made me most proud was that I built the Bucky’s Crew name up so well that in less than a year’s time, the athletic department wanted to take over the crew and build it up even more.
Q. Has this role impacted the way you will engage with the university as an alum?
Angela: This role has impacted the way I will engage with the university as an alum. It has given me a deeper meaning of what the university stands for and has given me motivation and desire to give back to future students and alumni.
Tarang: It showed me that I want to give back to students, especially BUSAA. There were opportunities, knowledge, and experiences that I had the opportunity to take advantage of, and it made me think about presenting new opportunities or experiences that students might want but don’t have access to currently.
Q. What advice would you offer the next BUSAA president?
Angela: My best advice would be don’t stress. Soak in everything, and take the time to talk to the alums. They have so much knowledge—and they want to help you.
Tarang: Continue to adapt and change things as needed while maintaining the integrity of the organization. Continue to add new ideas, and do not be afraid of failure. Learn from it, and make it a success.