New Connections

Georgia Southern alumni in the Atlanta, Ga., area have a new connection to their alma mater with the recent hire of Rachel Miller (‘05), the director of Atlanta regional development for University Advancement’s Office of Alumni Relations. While living and working in Atlanta on behalf of the University, Miller is helping the more than 18,000 Atlanta area alumni get connected and reconnected with their alma mater.

“We are very excited to have Rachel join our team to help us resume our focus on the Atlanta area,” said Wendell Tompkins, director of alumni relations. Exciting plans are already underway, including the expansion of the alumni networks into seven geographic networks — Metro, East, West, South, Gwinnett County, Forsyth/North Fulton and Cherokee/North Cobb.

Miller’s background includes working for Georgia Southern in such positions as a regional admissions counselor in Atlanta, and as coordinator of visitation programs in the University’s Office of Admissions. “Working as an admissions counselor, I had the opportunity to recruit students to Georgia Southern from all different areas of the state,” she said. According to Tompkins, Miller’s experience is a tremendous benefit and will translate well to alumni relations as she is focusing on alumni recruitment and strengthening their connection with Georgia Southern.

One of the Alumni Association’s successful new initiatives that Miller plans to expand is Eagle Outreach, which involves alumni dedicating their volunteer efforts to various community service projects. Over the past year, a core group of Atlanta alumni have dedicated countless hours to activities such as assisting a Habitat for Humanity build site, working at a thrift store to benefit a women’s shelter and supporting local youth in area events. Community service is an area that Miller knows well, having worked side-by-side with Georgia Southern students on many service projects. “One day we hope to have a national day of service for all alumni,” she added.

In an effort to determine volunteer interests, Miller is reaching out to all alumni, and asking them to complete a volunteer interest survey at alumni.GeorgiaSouthern.edu

“Our alumni groups have been successful because of our dedicated volunteers, and we are here to serve our alumni. We look forward to expanding our programming, including Southern Women and the networks, and strengthening these connections,” she added. For more information, contact Miller at rachelmiller@georgiasouthern.edu or by calling 404-323-5928.