Mentorship is not a numbers game, it is an opportunity to connect your alumni community in a tangible way to the institution and future alumni. By creating an interconnected, fulsome mentorship platform that encourages connection worldwide, you expand the ability of alumni and students to achieve greater success in their careers and personal development, while enhancing the reputation of your institution.

In 2022, the Office of Alumni Relations (OAR) engaged an alumni volunteer committee as the Alumni Recognition Focus Group (ARFG) to re-design alumni recognition and awards programming at Mount Royal University (MRU). The revamped program that emerged in 2023, the Outstanding Alumni Awards, integrated direct feedback from these alumni volunteers and aligned alumni recognition directly to Mount Royal’s vision and values while supporting the strategic goals from both the Alumni Relations strategic plan and the overall University Advancement strategic plan. This shift has created the opportunity to celebrate alumni who may not have received recognition under the previous, achievement-focused format and provides the opportunity for deeper relationship building with a wider alumni audience. The Outstanding Alumni Awards (OAA) is a year-round program engaging alumni, priority campus stakeholders and friends of the university actively in volunteer roles and content creation. This evolution process and subsequent awards program recently received a Silver Medal at the CCAE (Canadian Council for Advancement in Education) Prix d'Excellence awards.