Georgetown Alumni

Save the date! The Georgetown University Alumni Association, in cooperation with the Georgetown Alumni Club of Greece, Georgetown University, and other key partners will be hosting an International Alumni Summit in Athens from October 2 to 4, 2026.

Join us for engaging conversations on topics of global importance featuring representatives from Georgetown, Greece, and the broader international community. We will also offer social and cultural programming with unique opportunities to experience Athens, whether this is your first visit or you are a local.

If you are interested in hearing more about this event, please fill out the interest form: https://g.town/4ufYBXl

Originally from Bloomington, Illinois, George Martin Wetzel (C’59) graduated from Georgetown with a degree in History and Philosophy. After leaving the Hilltop, he entered the Jesuit seminary with the intention of becoming a priest while at the same time earning an M.A. in Art History from Loyola University Chicago.

After eight years at seminary, Wetzel made the difficult decision that his path was not in the priesthood, but remained committed to the ideals of service and community, which led him to Madison, Wisconsin, where he worked with The Renaissance, an early LGBTQ+ organization in the United States. He coordinated fundraising efforts, recruited volunteers, and served as editor of the group’s monthly newsletter, roles that reflected both his organizational talent and his deep belief in supporting others.

Throughout his life, Wetzel remained devoted to his Catholic faith, which he lived out for over 30 years as a lay minister and leader with the Dignity Houston community. He was a supporter and participant of DignityUSA activities and a volunteer with several community organizations including Omega House, a hospice facility founded during the AIDS pandemic.

Continuing Wetzel’s journey in faith was a deep desire to honor his Georgetown experience as part of his larger legacy. He included a significant bequest for Georgetown in his estate plan. The bequest will create the first endowed operations and programming fund for the LGBTQ Resource Center, ensuring that the center will always have adequate resources to support students and foster a larger sense of belonging for all members of the Georgetown community.

Read more about Wetzel’s dedication to his faith and how his gift will make an impact: https://g.town/4omVPON

Join the : a month-long initiative that brings our global community together to ensure that every Hoya can continue to discover their passion and their calling at Georgetown.

Can we count on your support before the fiscal year ends on June 30? https://g.town/438KE2b

📸: A few favorite scenes from Day 1 of

What to know before you go to :

1️⃣ Pack your Hoya gear 💙🩶
2️⃣ Text your friends what time you're arriving 🤳
3️⃣ Download the mobile app to get your personalized schedule, share photos, and more📲 https://g.town/4kwpQZ4

We can't wait to welcome you back in just a few days for 2026 🩵

What is your first stop back on the Hilltop?

Today, we remember and honor our military members who have given their lives in service of our country.

Thank you to all who have served, and to those who are currently serving. We’re wishing you and your family a peaceful Memorial Day.

Alina Watson (H’26) spent much of her childhood in waiting rooms at military and veterans hospitals with her dad.

For all of Watson’s life, her father lived with a severe neurological disability from his service as a U.S. Army tank commander. Watson helped care for her dad and went with him to his countless cardiology and neurology appointments.

In those waiting rooms, her dad repeatedly gave her a charge for her life. “Go be a doctor, and help people like me,” Watson remembers her dad telling her.

Watson’s dad passed away during her senior year of high school, months away before she started at Georgetown. But his words have fueled her through four years at Georgetown preparing to go to medical school.

“Being in that position in such a formative time, it showed me what’s truly valuable in life. For me, that was a person’s health,” she said. “It was the most powerful thing I could have done with my life to honor my dad’s legacy.”

“I knew that in being a doctor, it would be hard no matter what,” she said. “However, the privilege that I will get in being able to serve service members, veterans and their families is everything I had wanted. I knew that if I ever got the opportunity, I would want to treat, diagnose and serve people like my dad.”

Read more about Watson's commitment to service: https://g.town/4v57zYj

Over winter break, Yunji Yun (C’26) asked her mom to make a beloved childhood dish: sausage ketchup stir fry.

Her mom used to cook the stir fry in the months after they arrived in the U.S. from South Korea. Yun was 11 years old at the time, spoke no English and was hungry for a taste of home.

Ten years later, Yun’s mother made the dish exactly the way she remembered: Korean sausage and vegetables slathered in Korean ketchup and oyster sauce, served beside a lump of rice and egg curry.

“Despite our ups and downs, my mom’s hands remember me, what foods I like and how to make me feel 11 again, washing away homesickness and leaving me only with that feeling of comfort and home,” Yun wrote.

The recipe for sausage ketchup stir fry appears in Yun’s senior thesis, which isn’t a typical senior thesis but a 76-page food magazine that unpacks how Korean cookbooks illustrate the diversity of Korean American identity.

As part of her American Studies major, Yun spent nearly a year chronicling the rise of Korean food in the U.S. by poring through cookbooks, analyzing stories and recipes, and writing and designing the magazine. She even painted the cover, which, modeled after Bon Appétit magazine, features a bottle of American-made kimchi.

The process helped Yun understand her own Korean American identity — and gave her a deeper understanding of her grandmother and mother through their view of food.

Read more about Yun's stories of food and family: https://g.town/4dvYHUk

Growing up in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Robert Valero (SFS’26) didn’t have much of a Mexican community outside of his family. His father was a Mexican immigrant, while his mother taught Spanish at the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh.

Valero couldn’t communicate well in Spanish with his relatives in Mexico and felt like an outsider. The experience motivated him to explore his family’s language and culture throughout his life.

“I really value my family. They’ve always supported me, and not just my immediate family, but my extended family too,” he said. “I realized if I ever wanted a deeper connection with some of my extended family, I would need to learn Spanish.”

A high school summer study abroad experience in Spain only spurred on his interest in his Hispanic heritage and ignited his passion for global affairs. But Valero knew he wanted to go deeper.

He found what he was looking for at Georgetown.

Today, Valero is a Georgetown alumnus after four years of immersing himself in global affairs and Spanish language and culture.

“I’m extremely proud to say that I’m a Georgetown student. I don’t think many of these things would have been possible had I gone to a different school,” he said. “Georgetown is just an amazing place. I feel happy that my expectations were surpassed in every single way possible.”

Read more about how Robert explored his Hispanic heritage and global affairs at Georgetown: https://g.town/4tOJVya