Student callers aim to "raise friends"

"Hello, tonight my friends and I are calling University of Northern Iowa alumni across the nation to talk about this year's annual fund," says a young voice over the phone.

Nearly 40,000 telephone conversations began with this or a similar introduction during the 1999-2000 Annual Fund Drive. As a result of these conversations, $497, 950 was pledged to help UNI students. The pledges are vital to the success of UNI as an institution, but the conversations are vital to UNI as a community.

"We call our job 'friend-raising' as opposed to 'fund-raising,'" says Linda Emery '98, assistant director of annual giving. "Every good conversation with an alumnus is a successful call, even if we don't get a gift each time."

This year, 35 students are contacting their predecessors and gaining a lot in the process, according to Emery, who considers her staff as student ambassadors, not just telemarketers. Callers earn a salary of more than $6 an hour, Emery notes. They learn about the history of UNI, they keep alumni informed about what's happening on campus, they get feedback from their contacts, and they build relationships. Some of them even get job offers.

"'I've been waiting for your call' is a frequent response to our greeting," Emery says. "Our alumni seem to like hearing from real students, not an outside telemarketing firm. They like the interaction with young people."

So, who are these young people calling to "raise friends?"

Claire Regan is a junior majoring in social work from Waukon, Iowa. This is her second semester as a caller for UNI. "It's really fun to talk with alumni," Regan says. "Almost everyone has a story, from remembering activities at the pond to how they met their spouse. You get a sense of how it was at UNI before you came."

"I like finding out what the alumni are doing, to see where they've gotten with their degrees," says Heather Shultz of Onawa, Iowa. Shultz is a sophomore with plans to major in human resource management.

"The best part is meeting interesting people over the phone," says sophomore Sarah Vonnahme of Mallard, Iowa. "Alumni like to talk about their jobs, and I've gotten good information about my future career." Planning to major in organizational communication and marketing, Vonnahme says she's gained confidence by working as a UNI caller for three semesters.

In turn, alumni can learn about the latest news on campus: how new construction is coming, what activities are going on and how student life has changed. "Many of the older alums ask me about how living in co-ed dorms works," Regan says.

UNI's callers say they appreciate the flexibility in scheduling and the fact they can work evenings or on Saturday morning. Emery's morale-boosting games and contests keep callers energized during their three-hour shifts in the Visitor Center on campus.

"On a good night, when everyone is excited, it's a lot of fun," says Shultz. "One of the best games is bowling," she explains. "There's a little kid's plastic bowling game set up. Whoever gets a contribution of $50 or more gets to roll the ball. At the end of the shift, whoever has knocked over the most pins wins a prize. I'm not a great bowler, but the game is fun anyway!"

Prizes include UNI hats and shirts, gift certificates and 15-minutes of free long-distance telephone calls. "The games are an incentive," Vonnahme says, "but building the rapport with alumni makes the time you spend there so much more worthwhile."