That was the case when I went to graduate school at the University of Louisville and started to get to know my classmates, one of the typical questions was “Where did you do your undergrad?” People would proudly say Ohio State, LSU, and Texas.
When it was my turn, I would quietly say “Eastern Mennonite University(EMU).” “Eastern Menno-what? Where is that” was the typical response I received.It wasn’t that I was ashamed of EMU, my four years there was great, the classes were small, had good friends, and I could walk from one end of campus to the other in about five minutes. But it sucked almost having to bring out a map and give detail directions to people unfamiliar about my alma mater. I’ll admit one of the reasons I attended Louisville because it was more nationally well-known than Eastern Mennonite.
For those who don’t know Eastern Mennonite University is a small private school with no more than 1,000 students in Harrisonburg, VA. Go Royals!
Are you a college graduate that went to a small unknown university and encounter a similar situation? I would love to hear you stories.
Hmmm... as director of marketing/communications at EMU I found this of great interest Rob! We're working hard to raise awareness about the great things EMU offers. You know about those things... small classroom sizes, 1:1 time with professors in mentoring relationships, top notch academics. We hear from a lot of alumni that when they get to grad school, they find they are better prepared than some peers from more "prestigious" institutions, especially those in pre-med. You're probably also aware that the profile of EMU internationally is, well, high! Ironically, people in Nairobi know us better than people in the Shenandoah Valley sometimes. The Center for Justice and Peacebuilding -- especially Summer Peacebuilding Institute -- continues to bring people to EMU from ALL over the world, including the world's hot spots for respite and training. Recently cnn.com did a story on one of the programs out of CJP.. Coming to the Table. It was on cnn's home page for several hours one day and ended up being the most read and emailed story of the day! We were thrilled with the interest in EMU it generated... Keep talking about EMU (use your social media savvy!) and stay in touch...
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