Participants from the undergraduate classes of 2019 through 2025 convened in Chancellor Green Rotunda to explore new ways of strengthening their ties to the University, including through volunteering, supporting Princeton through Annual Giving and building connections with fellow Tigers through participation in class, regional and affinity groups, and by accessing TigerNet, Princeton’s online community for alumni. 

“Your Princeton journey lasts a lifetime,” said Deb Yu ’98, chair of the Annual Giving Committee and co-host of the summit, in her Friday night welcome remarks. “This summit is a chance for us to come together to share experiences and to realize what an incredible alumni network we are part of.” 

“We’ve designed PULSE with you in mind to give you the tools, resources and inspiration to lean into Princeton in new and meaningful ways,” said Ryan Ruskin ’90, president of the Princeton Alumni Association, chair of the Alumni Council and co-host of PULSE. “This event is all about showing you how to connect and make an impact.”  

Friday night’s agenda also included a session on “Understanding Princeton’s Endowment and the Importance of Annual Giving” with Jim Matteo, Princeton University vice president for finance and treasurer. “Engagement is the most powerful aspect of Annual Giving,” he said. “Annual Giving is a vote of confidence in what Princeton does. It is a way to connect with your fellow alums in supporting scholarship and research at Princeton and the impact it can have in the world.” 

Annual Giving dollars, he shared, are also unrestricted. “If you look at our endowment and the money we take from it each year, 70% of it is restricted or designated in some fashion,” he said, adding that Annual Giving’s unrestricted gifts are used for financial aid, student experience, and kick-starting initiatives, such as the LENS initiative, which ensures that every undergraduate student has an opportunity to participate in a paid service or social impact summer internship at organizations across the country and world. He described Annual Giving as “the University’s secret weapon” that helps to provide the “margin of excellence” that sustains and enhances the University’s distinctive academic programs. “Annual Giving provides alumni the ability to pay it forward, whether the gift is small or large,” he said, “and to be part of that, I believe, is valuable.” 

On Saturday morning, after a welcome from Sue Walsh, associate vice president for Annual Giving, and Kim Frawley, assistant vice president for Alumni Engagement, first-time PULSE participants attended a presentation on “Your Princeton Alumni Journey” led by Yu, Ruskin, Chris Olofson ’92, former chair of the Annual Giving Committee, and Monica Moore Thompson ’89, who recently concluded her tenure as president of the Princeton Alumni Association. The session focused on the rich traditions and engagement opportunities at the heart of Princeton’s alumni community, including Reunions, Alumni Day, Annual Giving, the work of Alumni Schools Committee (ASC) ambassadors, regional and affinity groups, class and Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni (APGA) jackets, and the time-honored Locomotive cheer.

“There are over 100,000 living alumni around the world,” Thompson said. “Within that community there are opportunities for lifelong learning and service. Even if you didn’t find community here during your time on campus, just know that there is community out there, and there are ways for you to connect and get involved.” 

Olofson encouraged young alumni to attend Reunions and to join regional and affinity groups. “Affinity groups have a goal of fostering a sense of belonging and bringing together a fully inclusive alumni community,” he said.

Those who had previously attended spring’s PULSE leadership summit engaged in a conversation focusing on strategies for recent alumni engagement with Walsh and Liz Prus Myers ’92, former University trustee and global chairman of investment banking and capital markets at J.P. Morgan.

Advancement Communications staff gave a demonstration of the newly revamped TigerNet platform, Princeton’s secure and exclusive digital community for all alumni, which will debut this fall. TigerNet provides one-stop access to regional and affinity groups, classes and the APGA, as well as to topical online discussion forums and a brand-new Alumni Directory with a user-friendly interface and custom filters for Princetonians. “TigerNet is an incredible resource for all alumni — and especially valuable for recent graduates looking to stay connected and engaged,” said Leda Kopach, director of marketing and client relations for Advancement Communications. 

A panel of four Tiger volunteers — Kishan Bhatt ’17 *21, Cecilia De la Rosa ’90, Vasanta Pundarika ’06 and Rob Wolk ’91— shared highlights of their inspiring alumni journeys in a discussion led by Betsy Grimes, senior associate director for Annual Giving. 

“The most amazing thing about volunteering for Princeton has been the connection in the community,” said De la Rosa, who started her Princeton volunteer service with ASC, served as Reunions chair for her class, then president of her class, and most recently served as president of the Association of Latino Princeton Alumni. “I continue to meet fellow classmates and alumni whom I didn’t know when I was a student. And those are now some of the closest friendships that I have — alums that I’ve met in just the last few years. That’s what drives me to volunteer and stay connected, aside from the fact that it’s incredibly fun.”  

“I started volunteering my senior year with Annual Giving,” said Bhatt, who reached out to classmates that year asking them to make a pledge to Annual Giving as part of the Senior Pledge Program. He started his Princeton alumni volunteer journey as an Annual Giving class agent, a role he continues to hold, and has served on the Annual Giving Committee and as an ambassador with the ASC. “It’s great, through Annual Giving, to have these opportunities to reconnect with classmates. We’re at a famously precarious moment in higher education in this country, and I think if you believe in free inquiry, exploration of ideas, bringing together people across different experiences and geographies, what more powerful way to signal your commitment to that than Annual Giving? Make a vote of confidence with that contribution. And it doesn’t have to be a huge one; it’s about the message it sends.”  

“Think about what interests you,” said Wolk, who, among other volunteer roles, recently stepped down after seven years as president the New York City regional association, serves on the Annual Giving Committee and The Parents Fund, and is an Annual Giving class agent for his upcoming 35th Reunion. “Is it interviewing kids? Is it building relationships with classmates for Annual Giving? Is it building regional connections and regional activities? Is it doing a book club with the Princeton Women’s Network or an alumni affinity group? Volunteering is so much fun, and you’re going to get so much out of it. Those connections and communities are going to serve you well personally and professionally.” 

Pundarika — who also began her Princeton volunteer work as an ASC ambassador, became an AG volunteer for her class and now serves as a current class agent and on the Annual Giving Committee — urged recent alumni to get started earlier. “There’s no reason to wait. Princeton needs you and needs you to get involved early, and you will be so excited about what it gives back to you. Don’t wait until you’re well into your 30s to do this. Start now.”

The summit concluded with a career-focused networking session facilitated by Don Seitz ’79, former associate director for alumni outreach in the Office of Innovation and a long-serving class agent for Annual Giving. Seitz encouraged the recent graduates to tap into Princeton’s alumni community for networking. “I want everyone in this room to create a habit of meeting a new Tiger once a quarter,” he said. “And use TigerNet. Find someone in your city, maybe in your industry, maybe in the arts. Tell them you just want to meet and buy them a coffee. And doing that quarterly, you’re not only meeting great people, but you’re expanding your network for when you need help or when you want to give help.” 

Attendees, who traveled back to campus from as far as Oklahoma and Northern California, also participated in a networking activity: each reaching out to 10 classmates on behalf of Annual Giving. 

Marko Medvedev ’22, who attended the spring PULSE conference, found the session about the endowment especially helpful. “There was a really nice presentation about the endowment, helping us understand what it does and what it doesn’t do, and how Annual Giving helps fill the gaps,” he said. “With the new changes in the federal government’s operations with respect to higher education, I think it’s very important to understand how we can help, and Annual Giving is one way to do that.” 

For those in the Class of ’25, it was an opportunity to fully consider their new relationship with the University. “Princeton opened a lot of resources and opportunities for me,” said Kajal Schiller ’25. “I think it’s hopeful for all of us new alums to believe in the continuity of the Princeton culture and the opportunities and resources. It’s exciting to realize that as a volunteer, you could be helping to open that door for someone else.” 

“This event has been really an eye-opening experience in staying engaged with Princeton post-graduation, whether it’s through volunteering in Annual Giving, connecting with local and regional groups, or staying connected through TigerNet, it’s been fantastic,” said Fletcher Block ’25. “I’m really happy about the new TigerNet. I use the directory a lot to get in contact with alumni and network, and it’s worked for me on quite a few occasions. So I’m excited to be able to do that, not just through the new and improved directory, but through groups and forums and more.”