Beginning in the new year, the Loyola Online Community will go live. This community will allow users to share and update personal information, find classmates and directly message alumni.

The online community will be implemented in stages from January to March. The service will be available first to alumni, then as the months go on, faculty, staff, and graduating students will gain access.

The idea for the community comes from Assistant Vice President for Alumni Engagement Laurie Leiva, psychology A’03.

“The Loyola Online Community came out of a Project Magis initiative aiming to build alliances with alumni and elevate Loyola’s national visibility and reputation,” Leiva said.

Leiva also credits collaborations with Human Resources, Student Records, Marketing and Communication and Institutional Advancement as helping to make the community accessible.

Through the online community, Leiva believes that alumni will have better access to their fellow classmates.

“This will be especially useful for our alumni celebrating a reunion or our recent graduates who are moving to a new city and may want to find and connect with alumni in that area,” Leiva said.

This community connects into the Loyola Alumni Association’s goals of serving alumni, promoting a spirit of cooperation and fellowship among them, encouraging the development of lifelong relationships between alumni and the university, and fostering philanthropic loyalty and support for the university.

One alumnus considering joining the Online Community is Daniel Sauls, business management A’04. Sauls believes that attending Loyola has had a great effect on his career after college.

“It has given me the confidence to go after any project with any company, knowing I have been prepared for my field of work by one of the best business schools in the country,” Sauls said.

Sauls says he may join the community once he has looked more into it.

Another alumna considering joining is Liz Johnston, writing A’16. Johnston, who is currently working on her PhD in Comparative Literature at LSU, believes attending Loyola has significantly helped her.

“I definitely believe Loyola prepared me for this program and the reputation of the university has definitely followed me as I work on my doctorate,” Johnston said.

Johnston knows little of this new online community but is willing to join.

“It seems far more effective than the individual alumni pages that I’ve joined on social media,” Johnston said.

Alumni are strongly encouraged to join but have the opportunity to opt out by looking on the Loyola Alumni webpage.