Rethinking Connection | a Year of Virtual Events
Connection is a cornerstone of Lake Forest College, so it’s no secret that adapting to virtual events was an adjustment for everyone. However, with a great team, creativity, and a little help from technology, we were able to offer unique alumni programming and reach members of the Forester Family from all over the world.
In November 2020, the College announced its partnership with the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management (LFGSM) to offer programming for alumni and graduating seniors in the Leadership Live series. This series consists of complimentary personal and professional development seminars featuring prominent business leaders and members of LFGSM faculty. While in-person networking was extremely limited this year, virtual networking offered opportunities to hear from and speak to industry leaders that may otherwise have been inaccessible. The most popular event in this 5-part series was "Presenting Yourself Virtually," where attendees learned from a member of the LFGSM Business Leader Faculty, Janine Sergay, how to improve their written and verbal delivery in the virtual office.
The Forester Connect Virtual Events Series (FCVES) sought to bring the personal feel of in-person events to a virtual venue. From faculty research spotlights, live streamed fine arts performances, prominent speakers, and social events, celebrating the Forester community virtually kept us connected. The FCVES was an experiment in fostering the spirit of our in-person events remotely, and even with technical difficulties and Zoom fatigue along the way, we had a blast reconnecting with Foresters from all over the world. Since August 2020, we put on 27 virtual events in this series alone—the two most popular were "Beyond the Music: A Musical Geography of Mexico" and "The Neuroscience of Racial Bias." The unofficial "Most Fun" award goes to the virtual Halloween party (rivalled only by "Holiday Mixology" hosted by Parkhurst).
Forester Day 2021 on March 4 was our largest virtual event to date, and the first time our annual giving day went remote. Although things looked different this year, the spirit of Forester Day was as strong as ever! We raised a total of $477,231—an incredible increase from last year. During the full day of live and pre-recorded programming, we checked in with Foresters of all ages and relationships to the College and showcased our community in creative ways. Thanks to numerous students, parents, alumni, friends, and fac/staff we collected an archive of amazing campus footage and testimonies sharing why we love the Forest. If you didn’t catch our Forester Day programming live, you can still watch those videos below.
Foresters, thank you for keeping our community connected through a year of virtual events—we could not have done it without you sharing on social media, attending events, and showing your Forester pride!