If you were looking to personify the Forever West spirit at the University of West Georgia, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone more suited than Kate Theobald.

A 2009 graduate and current student in UWG’s Higher Education Administration doctoral program, Theobald has served as a staff member since 2010 and has co-chaired the Alumni Campus Employees organization with her husband, Duane, periodically since 2015.

On Oct. 1, she transitioned from UWG’s Office of Undergraduate Research to the Department of Alumni Engagement in University Advancement to continue her career journey as assistant director of alumni engagement. 

University Communications and Marketing (UCM) recently spoke with her about her plans and goals for connecting with grads.

UCM: What are some short- and long-term goals you would like to reach in your new position as assistant director of alumni engagement?

Theobald: Short-term, I want to spend time diving into alumni engagement at UWG and enacting best practices in this space. Long-term, I want to help UWG alumni connect with the university and re-engage with us. Every alumnus should feel like UWG is still home, whether they graduated last year or many years ago, and I want to be part of cultivating those meaningful connections. 

UCM: In your new role, what are you most excited about?

Theobald: I'm excited to connect with new colleagues and with alumni. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone and learning more about their UWG stories. 

UCM: How can students stay connected to UWG after graduating, and why is being an active member of the alumni important?

Theobald: There are so many ways alumni can continue the connections they developed at UWG as students. They can join us for alumni events, mentor current students, share their success stories with us and more. When students graduate from UWG, they join a huge network of alumni (more than 73,000 strong!), and those connections can be so helpful as they seek employment opportunities or work on exciting new projects. Remaining active as alumni allows our graduates to access that network – to both give and receive support from their fellow Wolves. It's like having a whole Pack cheering them on.