Campus Sneak Preview Days
Would-be freshmen and their parents often fear getting lost on the large University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus. So, the Office of Admissions sets out to make sure sons and daughters, moms and dads, even grandparents, can experience friendliness and helpfulness on the campus. Thus, when one family participating in this summer’s Campus Sneak Preview Days couldn’t find their way from the Molecular and Cellular Biology building to Nicholson Hall, UMRA volunteer and President-elect Julie Sweitzer personally walked the family across campus.
That story is one indication of the Sneak Preview program’s success. Numbers are another. This year, more than 2,200 visitors, including 850 prospective students, attended one of the six sessions.
Sneak Preview Days have been happening at the University for many years. Admissions staff provide in-person tours, which include a general information session highlighting academics, campus life, student resources, and the admissions process.
This year, adding 18 UMRA Silver Gopher Service Corps volunteers put a new twist on the welcome. Who better to provide a friendly greeting and lend a helping hand than those of us who have spent our careers at the University?
“I think they really enjoyed meeting someone who was enthusiastic and positive about the U,” Silver Gopher volunteer Nanette Hanks said.
The Silver Gopher volunteers greeted participants and gave directions. Shannon Anderson, Minnesota Freshman Admission Counselor, worked closely with University Retirees Volunteer Center leaders Jerry Rinehart and Deanne Magnusson to recruit and organize the volunteers’ participation. “The Silver Gopher Service Corps volunteers did more than fill in the gaps. They added value,” Anderson said.
Silver Gopher volunteer opportunities this fall will include U of M Welcome Week, food packaging for underserved youth, and landscape and pollinator restoration projects in the area. Go to urvc.umn.edu to learn more and register to receive information related to your areas of interest.
—Peggy Mann Rinehart
News
One last reminder that the Nominating Committee is looking for your suggestions for candidates to serve on the UMRA Board—primarily president-elect, who serves as Program Committee chair for one year before becoming president; secretary; and up to five directors. The Board meets monthly from September through May and directors serve three-year terms.
Volunteerism is declining across the country, and the University Retirees Volunteer Center is gearing up to help reverse the trend. Please be on the lookout for a short survey in February or March. URVC wants to hear about your interests, experiences, and suggestions related to volunteering.
Meet UMRA member Nanette Hanks, a fourth-generation Texan who has hiked the Camino de Santiago in Spain nearly 40 times! She’s going back in June, and still has a couple places left if you’d like to join the group she will be leading.
There are some relatively easy things you can do to help protect yourself against identity theft and online and telephone fraud. Here are some New Year’s resolutions to help make your 2026 a safe year.
The third of Marilyn Erickson's three stories about her family history. She wrote each story “to check out the verbal family stories and connect them to documentation and photos.”
This third story is about Scandal in the Graveyard.
The second of Marilyn Erickson's three stories about her family history. She wrote each story “to check out the verbal family stories and connect them to documentation and photos.”
This second story is about the Sea Wing disaster.
The 2026 Nominating Committee is looking for your suggestions for candidates for UMRA board and officer positions. If you know of someone who might be willing to step up to an UMRA leadership role—and that someone could be you!—please contact Julie Sweitzer, Nominating Committee chair.
The University Retirees Volunteer Center greets 2026 with some exciting news: its office is moving to Morrill Hall, which houses the University’s administrative offices on the Twin Cities campus. The space is being provided by the office of Chris Gade, the vice president for communications, who oversees University Marketing Communications.
Meet UMRA member Pat Tollefson, founder of the UMRA Book Club (in 2011) and shining example of how volunteering and engaging in a variety of other activities can lead to a full life in retirement.
How would you like to participate in one or more informal afternoon group conversations at the Campus Club with University leaders—deans, center directors, department heads, for example—regarding their current situations and thoughts about the future?
Here’s how to make payments for UMRA events easily in the UMRA member portal, and how to use your UMRA membership card for on-campus parking and other discounts, including University Bookstores.
UMRA member Marilyn DeLong was one of three panelists who participated in a recent discussion and idea exchange on the value of shared writing groups as a means of community building, hosted by the national Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education.
Marilyn Erickson has an interesting set of three family history stories that she wrote “to check out the verbal family stories and connect them to documentation and photos.”