For Mary Mudge, BA'19, and her husband, Patrick Mudge, BE'19, it all comes back to community.
The college sweethearts met through mutual friends during their sophomore year at Vanderbilt, built lasting relationships through athletics, Greek life and service organizations, and settled in Atlanta to be near family and raise their own. Mary now serves Atlanta Commodores as co-president of the Atlanta Vanderbilt Chapter, with the mission of growing the Vanderbilt community and cultivating its next generation of leaders.
Atlanta is home to one of Vanderbilt's largest alumni and parent populations, and engaging the nearly 8,000 community members is no small task. Mary and her co-president, Kate McNamara, BA'13, work to engage alumni across generations, whether through events for younger graduates, led by Eric Ho, BA'21; increased social media outreach, coordinated by Chloe Barbour, BS'23; or university-focused programs such as Dare to Grow campaign events and industry-specific networking panels that spotlight the expertise of alumni.
Mary's involvement with the Chapter came at an unusually disconnected time. She and Patrick moved to Atlanta during the COVID-19 shutdown, and she looked to the local Chapter as a way to build community. She began by assisting the then-presidents in hosting small football watch parties and later joined the Chapter's board while event attendance slowly climbed and the world opened back up. "It was a snowball, but a ton of fun," she says of those early years in the Chapter.
Mary's motivation remains simple: giving back to the network that has supported her. "It's getting the most out of the Vanderbilt community that I can. I've gained new opportunities, mentorship and a variety of connections using the Vanderbilt network," she says. In her current role, she hopes to offer those same experiences to future alumni.
She encourages everyone considering engaging with their local Vanderbilt Chapters to lean in and use the unique community Vanderbilt offers to the fullest. "I think it's a bit more personal at Vanderbilt. Everyone coming out of Vanderbilt wants to give back with their time, energy and connections. People want to build on that shared experience that you have."
-Addy Crosby
