How to Write Alumni Profiles that Tell Your Story
This article is adapted from an on-line article by Nell Kauls.
For more information, and samples, see
https://blog.sewardinc.com/2010/05/13/write-alumni-profiles-that-tell-your-story/
An alumni profile is a short article that profiles an adult who attended camp and it
contains information about their current lives and reflections on how camp made a
difference in their lives. Prospective camp families want to know what positive
impact camp will have for their children and your website content needs to answer
them in an authentic way. Enter alumni profiles. REAL success stories are the
most effective way to show prospective camp families the value of your program.
Profiles are also a way to engage alumni in helping you fulfill your mission.
Making alumni part of your web-site and marketing content creation process is a
way to build and deepen their ties to your institution. Your alumni have many
interesting stories to share and are often very pleased to be asked!
Use the following tips to write alumni profiles for your website:
 Include the alumnus’s name, title, company, and years at camp and/or on
camp staff.
 Include alumnus’s accomplishments, such as a recent award received or a
special project.
 Provide “where are they now?” information. You can also use this
information to populate “Class Notes” sections of newsletters and web
pages. This feature is a way to attract other alumni, not just prospective
campers, to your website.
 Include quotes and information from the alumnus about how he/she used
his/her camp experience to improve his/her life, career, family, or Jewish
identity. Focus on those items that are the most compelling and have had
the greatest impact (“My most important friendships I made at camp!” “At
camp, I learned to trust myself and never to be afraid try new things –
which I use every day at my start-up.”)
 Many times you need to take license with a quote to make it carry the
message more clearly. Make sure the alumnus reviews and approves it.
These quotes can find their way into testimonials, ads, press releases, and
brochures. They are great information to get and have in your content
management system.
 Highlight how the alumnus built relationships with fellow campers,
established a strong Jewish identity and developed self-confidence.
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Present anecdotes about hobbies or interests that started at camp and that
have continued to become life-long interests.
Customize questions around the alumnus’s area of expertise, focusing on
interesting and current industry trends.
Create testimonials from the content gathered for profiles. A collection of
2-3 compelling quotes is all you need to create a testimonial.
Use words your readers care about in your profiles. Use a keyword
generating tool to discover new words for your website content. Google
AdWords offers a free tool.
Keep online profiles brief (4-5 short paragraphs). You can write longer,
detailed profiles for newsletters and other publications.
If possible, conduct the interview by phone or face to face. You will often
get more and better information this way because it’s not the first question
that gets you the story; it’s the question that comes out of the first question.
However, emailing your questionnaire to an alumnus is more convenient
and the information comes back to you in electronic format.
Request a recent photo or arrange to take the alumnus’s picture. See if you
can locate a photo of the alumnus’s past at camp (from the camp yearbook,
for example). Readers love seeing side-by-side images.
Remember to thank them in writing for their time.
Example Questionnaire
Use these questions to start a conversation with an alumnus:
 What degrees do you have and from where?
 What do you consider your greatest accomplishments? (Both personally
and professionally)
 How did you become interested in your field?
 What do you enjoy most about your current career position?
 What have been the biggest challenges in your career? Did your
experiences at camp help you to overcome obstacles you’ve faced as an
adult?
 How has your camp experience had an impact on your career and who you
are today?
 Describe any significant relationships with fellow campers. How did your
friendships with other campers help you?
 What advice would you give to younger alumni or current campers who
aspire to follow a similar career path?
 What was the best activity you did at camp? Do you have a favorite camp
staff member or counselor?
 Do you have a favorite or funny story about your time at camp?
 What do you enjoy doing with your free time? Family? Hobbies?
Interests?
 What would you say to a prospective camp family who are considering
camp X?