Spanning over 75 years, with thousands of students graduating from its campus, Mater Dei’s alumni network is extensive. Often compared to that of USC’s or Notre Dame’s, this high school’s alumni tend to stay involved and are willing to give back to the current and future Monarchs. Mater Dei’s network consists of industry professionals in a range of subjects and across the nation, keying on the term: the Monarch Mafia. 

The connection between this high school institution and its former students has mutual benefits by strengthening the community and providing current students with internships. To maintain this connection, Mater Dei’s Alumni department works to keep the community informed on athletic and performing arts schedules for the alumni. The Advancement team usually invites the alumni back on campus during reunions, athletic games, and arts performances. Director of Alumni & Legacy Relations Kathleen Kelly ‘94 speaks on how she involves alumni on campus.  

“Alums are always invited to everything, as far as current events [go],” Kelly said. “We try [to] make our school schedule known, [like] the athletic schedules [and] the performing arts events. We definitely want to keep alums as connected as possible.”

Not only does Mater Dei make its schedule known through its online website, but the Alumni department also sends out a monthly newsletter to bring awareness to new events and improvements on campus. With over 15,000 alumni registered on this email chain, the impact is vast. Keeping the alumni “in the loop” contributes to this feeling of monarch pride and willingness to engage with current students.  

“We have a monthly alumni email newsletter that goes out, and we keep events in there and give little snippets about different things happening on campus,” Kelly said. “We keep email addresses for all of our graduates, which is probably [around] 15,000.”

Mater Dei hosts many events for both students and alumni to interact with one another. The most noteworthy networking opportunity is Career Day. Current students usually attend as a junior and can use the experience to exchange emails and contact information. Director of Admissions Jennifer Hornbuckle ‘03 communicates the benefits of Career Day and other networking mixers the Alumni Department puts on. 

“[The Alumni department] has mixers or networking events, [where] you have some older alumni there,” Hornbuckle said. “By the time you’re juniors, you have Career Day, and a lot of kids will meet alums there, make a connection, get their email, and stay in touch. I think it’s helpful [to] get your foot in the door [earlier].”

Although these annual events can have significant benefits for students to make new industry connections, current Monarchs have found greater success by reaching out to the Mater Dei Alumni Department directly. Rather than passively attending Career Day, students can either ask Kelly or Danielle Hill ‘01,  Manager of Annual Fund & Alumni Relations, to connect them with an industry professional in a field of their choosing. 

“Students are under utilizing the connections we have. Students could come to Miss Kelly [ask to be] connected with an alum who’s in that industry [and] chat with them,” Hornbuckle said. “There are so many alumni who come back and say ‘we know we can donate to the school. What else do you need?’ There’s so many good opportunities that I don’t think our students utilize.”

Kelly and Hill act as a relationship between current Mater Dei students and alums. These current Monarchs can most definitely utilize the alumni department for industry opportunities, including internships, mentorships, and scholarships. The alumni are more willing to have a direct impact and relationship with students rather than a passive donation. Hill speaks of her willingness to support current students with these networking opportunities. 

“Between myself and Miss Kelly, we are the connection to the alumni. The alumni stay in contact with us [and] we can contact them and then put [the students and the alumni] together,” Hill said. “We are here for [the students], and our doors are always open.”

Whether alums come back to campus as faculty member or are connected with a current student for an internship, they show complete eagerness to give back to the Mater Dei community. The Monarch pride runs deep, across the nation and over generations. As Mater Dei prepares its students for the next step in their professional careers, these alumni hope to support the next generation of Monarchs. 

“I love that I’m able to give back to a school that gave me so much,” Hornbuckle said.