At-a-Distance Alumni Engage with WPI Beyond These Towers

When President Grace Wang arrived on The Hill, one of her many priorities was to meet the WPI alumni community. To do so, she teamed up with University Advancement to bring WPI to alumni across the country. The Beyond These Towers presidential events, which took place in Massachusetts, New York, Florida, California, and Texas, provided alumni with an opportunity to meet President Wang and learn about her vision for WPI’s future. She also visited alumni and attended alumni events in Hong Kong and Jakarta, Indonesia.

One event took place at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., and included a visit with WPI’s 16th president, Laurie Leshin, at the world-class facility. “The JPL event was the perfect opportunity to connect with WPI alumni and engage with fellow members of the aerospace community. Additionally, I was very excited for the chance to meet President Wang and reconnect with Dr. Leshin. Both are impressive female leaders who I admire and aspire to be
like someday,” says SpaceX Launch Engineer Bailey Savage ’22. She adds, “It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime event that allowed me to discover how powerful the WPI community can be, even 3,000 miles away from the classroom.”

When asked about her experience as a member of the WPI alumni community, Savage says, “I take a great deal of pride in being a WPI alumna. The school’s focus on building each individual—both inside and outside the classroom—leads to students entering the world with curiosity and preparedness. I was heavily involved in the WPI community, and believe I owe a great deal of my postgraduate success to the lessons learned during my college experience. I am always looking for ways in which I can continue to support the growth and overall impact of the university.”

Jay Bee Oil & Gas COO and Vice President Jon Morgan ’11, who attended the Mountain View, Calif., event held at the Computer History Museum, says, “I try to go to as many WPI events as I can in the Bay area, not only to connect with alumni and faculty but to learn more about how WPI has been improving over the years. The alumni event was a great opportunity to reconnect with alumni I have not seen in years (and others I see more frequently). I always enjoy spending time with my fellow WPI alumni as we always have such fun stories to share, and we all want to see WPI succeed and grow.”

The Beyond These Towers presidential event series will continue during the 2024-25 academic year. More information on locations and dates will be shared in the coming months.