“I Heart UTM” week is the annual spirit week sponsored by the Office of Alumni Relations and the Undergraduate Alumni Council (UAC). The Office of Alumni Relations hosts events everyday to help raise student pride at UTM.
The first event of “I Heart UTM” week occurs the week before festivities begin.
The annual “Captain’s Challenge” fundraiser is an event created by Jared Anderson, Assistant Director of Alumni Relations. Previously, the Captains Challenge raises funds for a week, however this year, the entire fundraising period took place in 24 hours.
“Going into this years ‘Captain’s Challenge’, I think we were all a little bit anxious since this was the first year that we tried to reach our goal in one day. But we decided to keep the goal the same as last year and raise $300,000 in just 24 hours,” Anderson said.
“At the end of the day when we had raised over $312,000, it was a huge sigh of relief knowing we had accomplished what we set out to do.”
The 2018 rendition of the tradition included many of the same events from last year.
On Monday, UAC hosted the annual Mike Munkel BBQ, where the Student Activities Council provided an obstacle race and laser tag arena. Students were also able to trade canned goods for UTM tank tops and over 550 pounds of cans were donated.
Tuesday, students participated in ‘Donuts for Donors,’ where they were encouraged to write a thank you card to donors of the university in exchange for a donut.
Wednesday morning, UAC gave away over 200 muffins, orange Crush drinks and UTM Alumni stickers to graduating seniors.
After lunch, students could enjoy a petting zoo and camel rides in the quad.
In the afternoon, the Senior Walk commenced through the quad. Staff, faculty and students alike, gathered to congratulate seniors as they made the annual walk from the UC to the Elam center.
Thursday, which is community day, UAC collects pictures of proud businesses who have donated to the University and interacts one-on-one with the community in the Martin area.
Friday is an alumni day. Students are invited to come to the quad outside the UC and grab some hot dogs, snow cones and drinks, as well as alumni gear.
“I Heart UTM” week offers relief from class work and exams as it falls just before finals.
Emma Bruner, a sophomore from Martin, said, “’I Heart UTM’ week is the best way to end the semester. It is full of fun events, and I love how it spotlights the graduating seniors.”
“I Heart UTM” week is a popular event with many students as it encourages graduating seniors to continue to stay in touch with the University and do their part in giving back after graduation.
