With the start of this year’s Homecoming Week, the University of Idaho welcomed back alumni to take part in the festivities and recapture what it means to be a Vandal.
Marie Duncan graduated from the University of Idaho in 2009 with a degree in public relations, but she didn’t travel far from the Vandal family. A third-generation Vandal with strong ties to the community, Duncan now works in alumni relations on the UI campus.
“I joke that I was born to work in the alumni office.” Duncan said. “Three out of four of my grandparents came here. My parents came here. Almost all of my aunts and uncles came and graduated from here.”
After graduating in 2009, Duncan worked part time for many different departments on campus to figure out who she was. She eventually got a full-time job in admissions and then moved on to alumni relations where she has been working for three years.
When Duncan first arrived on campus, she wanted to be an agriculture teacher in her hometown of Fruitland, Idaho, like her grandfather and uncle.
“The education opened doors for me. The student organizations I was involved in opened doors for me,” Duncan said. “The education program got me in a classroom before I had to student teach, so I realized I didn’t want to teach early on.”
While on campus, Duncan was a part of the Student Alumni Relations Board, Associated Students University of Idaho (ASUI), and the Homecoming committee. She also joined the sorority Gamma Phi Beta.
“I came up here thinking I knew a lot of people from high school, being from Idaho, but I came up here and made a new family, my Vandal family,” Duncan said. “The people who were in my wedding were people I met here in college. It wasn’t high school friends.”
Duncan describes her love for UI as a love for the sense of community. Whether it was on campus, across the country or a gathering of alumni.
“Vandals take care of people and take care of each other,” Duncan said. “It’s been really cool, from the time I was little, going to family Vandal barbeques. People don’t give handshakes after meeting someone.They give hugs.”
Marie Duncan may have graduated from UI years ago, but she said the Vandal family never left.
“Just get involved and find your niche,” Duncan said. “It may not be the people you live with. It may not be the people you go to class with, but at U of I, they do a great job of offering lots of opportunities to find your people.”
Brianna Finnegan can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @BriannaFinnega8