Almost 10 years ago, I attended my first official Yale alumni activity: the annual dinner of the Yale Alumni Association of Cleveland. Having recently graduated and returned to my hometown, I was excited to enter this new chapter of life. I enjoyed the evening, but I couldn't help but notice that most of my "peers" in attendance already had a few decades of experience as Yale alumni. In recent years, though, attendance at the annual dinner has reflected a transformation in our local alumni community.

The change began in 2003 when we welcomed 33 Yale undergraduates to Cleveland for the inauguration of the "Bulldogs on the Cuyahoga" summer program. Modeled on the successful "Bulldogs in the Bluegrass" program that was launched in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1999, our intent was to bring the students to our city for internships, civic engagement, and just plain fun. Perhaps -- we hoped -- seeing the professional and personal possibilities of northeast Ohio would even encourage some of those talented young men and women to consider moving here after graduation.

More than 100 Bulldogs have now come to Cleveland and benefited from the wisdom of scores of alumni, employers, and other community supporters. And the program has blossomed into a multi-institutional one through collaboration with local alumni from Case, Colgate, Cornell, Princeton, and Smith. The expanded Summer on the Cuyahoga (SOTC) program recently attracted 630 applicants for 70 positions.

So far, nearly 30 SOTC alumni have returned to Cleveland to live and work, including Gwendolyn McDay '05, who was among the first Bulldogs in our program. A Vermont native, she credits the program with "showing me all that Cleveland has to offer -- and there was plenty." The experiences and relationships she formed as an intern at ShoreBank Enterprise ultimately landed her a job as a coordinator for the Fund for Our Economic Future, a Cleveland-based group helping to jumpstart the regional economy.

We alumni have also gained from the experience in anticipated ways. Most notably, "Bulldogs" provides a remarkable bridge to campus for alumni. Mathew Beredo '94, the program's vice president, notes that "we are part of the students' educational and professional development through the jobs, mentorships, and events opportunities. This interaction lets us see Yale not as it existed when we graduated, but as it exists now."

Mathew also observed that the program "creates a broader profile for Yale in the community -- I mean, Gilmore Girls can only go so far -- so each of the participating students and alumni is an ambassador for Yale."

The impact of Bulldogs has also been very personal. As one of the program founders, I have developed deep and rewarding friendships with many of the volunteers from Yale and the other SOTC schools. Each of us has become more actively involved in our community: reaching out to employers for internships, arranging community service days with the interns, exploring new venues as we play tour guide to the students.

This gives us an opportunity to demonstrate what life after Yale is like: balancing career with family and volunteer commitments. We reveal to the students how Yale clubs and alumni activities can be an important part of their lives. Where'er upon life's sea they sail -- even if it isn't to Cleveland -- we hope that these are lessons they will take with them.

Of course it is incredibly rewarding when the students recognize that the program is more than the internship experience. After our most recent annual dinner, Senthu Arumugam '09, who is interning this summer at KeyBanc Capital Markets, acknowledged that his job is "incredibly engaging, but more importantly, I'm building relationships with Yale alums that genuinely care about my well-being and success and are now my mentors and friends. I'm now looking forward to one day offering my own advice, support, and friendship to the Yalies of tomorrow."