Washington Semester’s 25-plus years of alumni engagement

Alumni have been the animating force of JMU Washington Semester from the beginning. Spring 2000 was my first semester as the program’s Faculty Member in Residence, and, as an academic, I was clueless about how to provide students with meaningful career guidance. That was a glaring problem: Students expect Washington Semester to help them launch a career in politics, policy, and related fields, and I didn’t know how to guide them.

Fortunately, my predecessor Robin Teske handed me a long list of alumni who had volunteered as career mentors and guest speakers when she served as Faculty Member in Residence in spring 1999. I desperately needed that list. I needed mentors to match with students based on their vaguely expressed professional aspirations. I needed guest speakers who could bring a practitioner’s perspective to what we were teaching in the classroom. I needed panelists who could provide career advice. So, I picked up the phone and called all of the alumni on the list. Everyone agreed to pitch in. Of course they did; I was just beginning to experience how eager Dukes are to lend a hand to fellow Dukes.

John Edgell (’83) certainly fit that description. I met John when I asked him about the JMU sticker on his car, which was then a rare sight in the District of Columbia. John had been a business major, but now he was a chief of staff in the U.S. House. He was friendly and eager to help — he’s a Duke! — and he put me in touch with his many alumni acquaintances who were working in fields related to our majors. John’s list included Dan Caprio (’84), who agreed to serve on my first alumni panel that semester (and has been an eager volunteer ever since). Eventually I met Dannie Diego (’99), then a Hill staffer who had interned on the Hill two years earlier as a member of the second Washington Semester cohort. Many of you know Dannie because she has mentored dozens of young Dukes in the early stages of their careers. Ditto for both Jamie Lockhart (’07) and Jamie Jones Miller (’99), who between them have provided professional advice to more students and alumni than anyone can count (perhaps you are one of them).

The list grew, as did the number of career programs led by alumni – both inside and outside of Washington Semester. In 2006, Tom Culligan (’05) spearheaded the launch of JMU Politicos, an informal network of alumni working in politics, policy, and related fields. The primary purpose of the organization was to develop programming aimed at helping students and recent graduates launch a career in public service. When the department created an alumni board in 2011, these efforts expanded under the board’s leadership.

The breadth and depth of alumni engagement is what sets JMU Washington Semester apart from other DC-based internship programs, and our students are the beneficiaries. Alumni not only share specific insights cultivated by real-world experience; they serve as role models for aspiring public servants. As a result, Washington Semester students arrive in DC feeling intimidated and awestruck and leave three months later with an informed sense of confidence that they, too, can thrive in a public service career.

I was reminded of this asset when the program celebrated its 25th anniversary at a joyful reception at the JMU Washington Center in November 2022. The event would not have happened without the exuberant leadership of Sierra Stanczyk (’09), a member of the spring 2008 cohort who volunteered to chair the steering committee of program alumni. The event featured a range of speakers. Sierra and Rachel Yang Antoun (’09) recounted a friendship that started when they were randomly assigned as roommates during their semester in DC. Dannie was joined on stage by Amanda Andere (’02), whom Dannie had mentored when Amanda interned on Capitol Hill. Attendees also heard from Rebecca Schumm McCraw (’12) and Brian McCraw (’12), a married couple who first met as Washington Semester students in fall 2011. Zan Guendert (’17) organized a lively post-event gathering at a nearby establishment, and Michael Gruccio (’09) hosted a gathering before the reception. Students Zach Smith (’23) and Bella Santos welcomed guests on behalf of the fall ’22 cohort — a group of attendees who realized how lucky they were to be part of such a momentous celebration.

Some of you know that I have decided to step down as program director, effective in July. It is time for new leadership and fresh ideas. Fortunately, the new director will be my colleague Edward Yang, who brings five terms of service as Faculty Member in Residence for the spring program. I will continue to serve as Faculty Member in Residence for the fall program. The change will free up more time to collaborate with you in my now-expanded role as the department’s alumni outreach coordinator. Email me at jones3da@jmu.edu if you’d like to pitch in.