Drake University graduates can now keep their drake.edu email address for three years after graduating instead of one.
Blake Campbell, director of alumni and parent programs, said the change was made for various reasons.
“It helps new graduates to retain emails and contact information from faculty and classmates that they may wish to keep for personal and professional reasons,” Campbell said. “Second, it allows for Drake to continue to stay in touch with new graduates and share information and news about alumni events in their new community or hometown via their Drake email account.”
Campbell says that email is the preferred way for most Drake graduates to keep in contact with the university. By keeping the email addresses for additional years, Drake can help its graduates longer.
“We hope to keep in touch with our graduates and help get them settled and meet other alumni when they move to a new city,” Campbell said.
This may prove to be helpful for alumni, especially since the alumni association has started setting up meet ups across the country for former Bulldogs.
Amanda Blitsch, a first-year pharmacy student, thinks this is a good idea, even though she’ll probably use it sparingly.
“I might use it for my college friends, but they’ll probably have my (personal) email before then,” she said.
Because most students primarily use their Drake email when they’re at college, Blitsch believes that many students use it to register on websites. She admitted to verifying an account on a social networking site with her college email.
Amber Gurican, sophomore health science major, plans on using her Drake email account after graduating.
“It’d be good to make connections to find a full time job after I graduate,” Gurican said. “And keep in contact with professors for recommendations.”
Hannah Ridgewell, a P2, uses her Drake email account for everything and will probably put the new system to use.
“It gives me some credibility,” Ridgewell said. “I use that account on my resumes.”
This new policy is a way for Drake to test the idea of giving students and graduates “lifetime” drake.edu email addresses like many other schools do. However, some students aren’t sure this is a good idea.
“That’s a lot of email accounts to keep track of and a lot of space,” Ridgewell said. “And what if another Hannah Ridgewell shows up after I graduate?”
