Page 5 - CEMS Newsletter Fall 2023

CEMS NEWS
A letter of thanks from Julie Prince continued from page 4
plan and attend because I was able to see so many of our alumni again and get the latest updates on their lives. Fair warning, in the future I may crash some of these events, but not this Fall since I will be on my first-ever cruise vacation!
Finding A Career in CEMS
Some have asked ‘Why did I stay so long in CEMS?’ I have always felt respected and appreciated. I felt like an important part of the team because the people I worked for and with acknowledged the work that I did to help support the department’s vision. I loved my job, the people I worked with, and all of the students I met and helped along the way. It was tremendously rewarding to see the growth and development of the students over the course of their five or six years in the department. Why would I (how could I) leave my CEMS family, my second home? It’s hard to imagine that I could have found this sense of fulfillment in any other job. But now, it is time
for me to spread my wings and enjoy retirement with my husband, Will, and all of our friends.
Julie Prince Fellowship
I leave CEMS with bittersweet thoughts and so many great memories. The outpouring of well-wishes for my retirement via email and the various CEMS social media links and especially the Kudoboard and crowdfunding campaign, brought back many more great memories, for which I am so thankful that we were all a part of. The donations made to the crowdfunding campaign to designate a fellowship in my name for this academic year, for a couple of new first-year graduate students, has touched my heart deeply.
When the Department initially approached me about the idea of starting a fellowship campaign in my name, it was hard for me to put into words how it made me feel. It felt humbling, but also made me feel very proud of my impact in CEMS over the past 39 years. What an honor! My first thought was sure, it could work, but in my mind I humbly thought that only a modest amount might be raised. Seeing the amount that has been raised exceeded my initial expectation. I am honored
to have this fellowship in my name, but even more honored that it comes from my ‘CEMS family of alumni.’ The fact that approximately 7,000 alumni received word of this fellowship, and more than $24K has been donated is truly amazing. I cannot feel anything but sincere gratitude and appreciation for all the generous donations. I was delighted to meet the recipients of this fellowship at the recent CEMS Celebration of Giving event. Thank you all for making this a truly unique moment in my life. Thank you everyone for the great memories! It’s been my honor to know each of you!
Well Wishes for Julie
If you have not already done so and would like to post your well wishes for Julie Prince’s retirement, please do so via this link:
https://z.umn.edu/jprince
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