University of Northwestern Alumni

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s UNW Alumni T-Shirt Contest! We were blown away by the creativity and enthusiasm of our alumni community, as more than 1,200 alums voted on their favorite shirt.

Congratulations to Lissa Li ('17), whose design earned nearly 450 votes to become the official 2026 UNW Alumni T-Shirt! 🦅

We love seeing our alumni community come together like this and we can’t wait to do it again next year.

32,000. 🦅

This spring, the UNW Alumni family reached an exciting milestone: 32,000 living alumni around the world.

But this number is more than a statistic.

It's 32,000 Eagles serving in churches, classrooms, hospitals, businesses, nonprofits, mission fields, and communities across the globe - loving God's Word and God's world.

To Yana Kolesnik (alum #32,000 in the photo), the Class of 2026, and every Eagle who has gone before, thank you for carrying Northwestern's mission wherever God has called you.

Together, we are UNWavering!

This year, we decided to try something new because we believe 1) the alumni t-shirt should be designed by an alum and 2) the entire alumni community should have the chance to vote on the design. We were thrilled by the response and incredibly encouraged by the creativity and talent reflected in the submissions we received.

Shout out to Tyson Phipps '19, Kelly Riess '21, Ashley Mendez '16, Holly Reese '06, and Liss Li '17 for submitting our finalist designs!

Check your email or the "Northwestern (MN) Alums Connect!" Facebook group to find the link to vote.

The 4th Annual Purple Donut Run is set for Saturday, October 10! 🍩

Since today is National Donut Day, we thought it was the perfect time to introduce this year's donut guy. Meet "Doug". 😎

Save the date and make plans to join us this fall at Homecoming - you donut want to miss it!

The final episode of Season 2 features 11 alumni spotlights, a brief season 2 recap, and season 3 preview! Hear how God is at work through UNW graduates in your community and around the world. From music and law to ministry and biology, UNW alumni are living out their callings and using the gifts God has given them to make an impact in today’s world.

Listen to see if you’re featured in this latest episode. Tune in wherever you get your podcasts or at https://theunwaveringpodcast.buzzsprout.com.

Flight Night is a time to celebrate before you soar! On May 15, we had a blast welcoming the newest class of grads into the alumni community with flights of ice cream, prizes, games, and their alumni scarves. Alums from across the decades came back to cheer them on (literally and figuratively) by serving ice cream, praying over them, and sharing words of wisdom on how to make the most out of being alums. We can't wait to see how God uses these Eagles, with 32,000 fellow alumni cheering them on!

2026 Alumni T-Shirt Design Contest

Creative Eagles, this is your moment! Alumni t-shirts are a beloved annual tradition, and this year, we want to take them to the next level.

We believe alumni tees should be designed by alumni, for alumni. That’s why we’re launching an Alumni T-Shirt Design Contest!
Design submissions are due by May 31. Once all submissions are in, the entire alumni community will have the opportunity to vote and help choose the winning design.

So bring your best ideas, bold creativity, and Eagle pride. Start by viewing the guidelines and details and then get to sketching!
https://www.unwsp.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Alumni-T-shirt-Contest.pdf

Scholarship Symposium
Friday, May 8, 2026 | 9:00 am - 12:40 pm

Alums, come join us for a scholarship celebration that highlights the research and scholarly work of faculty and students through teaching sessions in several fields of study!

See the schedule for speakers and topics!

Scholarship Symposium Join us for the Scholarship Symposium and hear faculty presentations and poster sessions from six different fields of study.