By Micah Friez
Published 2:49 pm on April 15, 2025
Bemidji State University’s Alumni Networks program is officially off the ground.
Dozens of BSU alumni and friends came out and joined in on the Alumni & Foundation’s annual events in Arizona, where attendees participated in a social on Friday, April 11, and a baseball game on Saturday, April 12.
The festivities doubled as the official launch party of the new Alumni Networks program, which is a revival of Bemidji State’s old Alumni Chapters and has been piloted by the newly established Arizona Network.
“From start to finish, each gathering was marked by meaningful connection and genuine pride in BSU,” said Angela Schmidt, the director of alumni and career advancement. “The key factor behind this success was, without a doubt, the commitment of our alumni — those who helped coordinate logistics, shared their stories, networked with others and modeled what it means to be proud Beaver alumni.”
The Arizona Network is open to all alumni and friends in the region. Bemidji State offers three membership tiers ranging from free to fully-vested, with more and more perks the higher you go. To learn more about memberships or to sign up today, click the button below.
More regional networks are coming soon, as well — starting next with a network in Minnesota.
Both Arizona events over the weekend created a space for alumni to engage with one another and the university. At the social in Sun City West, attendees shared details of their experiences at Bemidji State and heard stories from others — and a few even went home with door prizes and other goodies.
At the baseball game, home fans were treated to a comeback for the ages inside Chase Field in Phoenix. The Arizona Diamondbacks trailed the Milwaukee Brewers 4-0 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, but the DBacks rallied to score five runs in the frame and win 5-4 on a walk-off. The exciting victory marked just the third time in franchise history that Arizona won a game when trailing by four or more runs entering the bottom of the ninth.
As is the point of the Alumni Networks program, the weekend ultimately allowed attendees to interact with old and new friends within a similar geographic region. BSU hopes that the niche gatherings can spark new relationships and reignite old ones, and those aspirations took a step in the right direction.
“Arizona has set a high bar for what’s possible when we empower alumni to lead and connect,” said Schmidt. “The turnout, the enthusiasm and the leadership at each event demonstrated a strong appetite for ongoing engagement and a desire to build a lasting, regional community here.”
Arizona is the first regional hub to establish a Bemidji State Alumni Network. After witnessing the weekend’s success first-hand, Schmidt knows that it was the perfect pioneer for such an endeavor.
“With over 700 alumni here, Arizona is an ideal foundation for launching our Alumni Networks program,” she said. “This pocket of graduates offers both the numbers and the geographic variety needed to pilot meaningful and sustainable alumni engagement efforts. This weekend proved that Arizona alumni are not only present in numbers here, but also deeply invested in maintaining their connection to Bemidji State.”
Have questions about Alumni Networks? Click here or contact Angela Schmidt at angela.schmidt@bemidjistate.edu or 218-755-2599.
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