A conversation with the new UOAA board president

Erin Watkinson, BA ’00 (international studies, Spanish), is the newly elected president of the UO Alumni Association. Watkinson works as vice president of client success at Avetta, a cloud-based supply chain risk management and commercial marketplace platform. After more than five years of service on the UO Alumni Association board, she succeeds Maylian Pak, MA ’05 (geography), as board president.

"We have had the benefit of exceptional leadership with our board of directors,” said UOAA Executive Director Raphe Beck. “I’m so grateful to Maylian for giving over a decade of service to the board, and we’re lucky to have Erin Watkinson as her very capable successor.” 

Fellow UO Alumni Association board member Alexa Tieu Whippo, BS ’10 (journalism, electronic media production), sat down with Watkinson to discuss how accepting this volunteer leadership role has impacted her life.

Why did you choose the University of Oregon?

It was honestly not my first choice. It was a safe choice at the time. I grew up in Eugene, so the last place I thought I wanted to go to school was the University of Oregon. I was an avid fan growing up and went to football games and basketball games and always loved the Ducks, but felt that I needed to leave, as I think we all do. So, I did the extreme of that and took a year off, living in South Africa. I ultimately came back to Oregon, because I thought I could figure out where I wanted to go from there.

It ended up being a somewhat magical moment for me in the fall term of my freshman year; I never felt more at home. I thought I needed to leave my hometown to have the college experience and get me out of my comfort zone, but it was coming back from halfway around the world that made me feel I was in the right place. This is always where I was supposed to be. 

Being from Eugene, was it hard to separate your family life from your university experience?

I think I would have had a hard time separating them had I went straight to the UO from high school. Going and living away from my parents, family, and friends while everyone else was going through their first year of school, it was like my year in South Africa was my freshman year in college in many ways. I was forced to create a life solely based away from my parents and learned what I wanted to do and how I wanted to show up. When I was at the UO, I think I saw my parents once a term. It was crazy that just across the river, I felt like I had a separate life from my childhood that would sometimes intersect, but only by choice. It worked really well.

What was it about the UO that helped define your adult life?

There are so many things I enjoy about the UO, but what comes to the forefront in all the times I get an opportunity to return to campus is the variety of opportunities that exist based off your level of interest. It was truly, to me, a place that you get out of it what you put into it, as far as experiences go. Like a lot of undergrad students, I changed my mind a number of times as far as what my major was going to be, but I felt comfortable in being able to do that. I was involved in a lot of extracurricular activities. I was in a sorority that created this foundation of friends for emotional support. I was involved in intramural sports and volunteered for organizations like Safe Ride. All the different opportunities to try something in a safe and supportive environment added to my confidence and experience to be able to do more of that moving forward.

Many of us do not immediately join the UOAA Board of Directors right after graduation. What brought you back to serve on the board?

A friend of mine from college who was on the board knew how much joy and fulfillment I got out of doing all the things that I did when I was at Oregon. He knew how active I was and brought my name up at the time. It wasn’t even something on my mind at the time; I was really focused on my career. I was still an avid supporter of all things Ducks-related, but I didn't think about the opportunity to give back and how or what that could look like. My friend knew I was a life member of the Alumni Association and suggested that I take a look at the opportunity. He said, “I think you should take a look at it, and I think you would really benefit from it. And, I think the board would also benefit from you participating.” The more I explored it, the more I got excited and remembered the feelings of satisfaction that I had when I was involved in different activities at the university. It made me instantly miss that feeling and made me want to get involved as soon as I could. The next day, I submitted my application.

What made you want to become the president of the board?

I'd say my time on the board has also been a journey. This is my sixth year, and the first couple of years on the board, we were going through a big transition. We didn't have an executive director. As Raphe Beck joined, I was able to participate in more opportunities, whether career networking-related, interacting with students, or mentoring, and the direction of the board felt like more of what I wanted the experience to be. Raphe and our staff are honestly amazing and so supportive, and the work they’ve done has helped us accomplish even more. After the last three to four years and enjoying the current direction of the board, I thought this would be a way I could help facilitate more and make more of an impact outside of our regular board meetings. I love leadership positions, and I was really excited to continue that growth. It’s something I naturally fall into.

What do you hope to accomplish as president of the board?

I hope not to mess anything up . . . just kidding! I definitely don't want people to have a bad experience. I want board members to enjoy the meetings and to learn about the amazing things about the university that we take away and share with our networks. This board is a great opportunity that we all have the privilege of being a part of. I’d like us to continuously improve the experience for the staff, but also for those volunteering on the board to feel like they are making an impact, however fits for them.

We also get to connect with students and show them what their experience could be like post-graduation, that your UO experience doesn't need to end when you graduate. This is a network of people who are different ages with different levels of experience that shows the whole notion of “you get out of it, what you put into it” that continues post-graduation. You just have to choose to be a part of it. Continuing with that messaging gives us the opportunity to truly impact not only existing alumni and not just those alumni on our board, but those who have a desire to participate in the Alumni Association. We want to make our Alumni Association the best possible one, and that is only possible through the influence of all the exceptional people that we get an opportunity to work with on the board.

–By Alexa Tieu Whippo, BS ’10 (journalism, electronic media production), UOAA board member and board communications committee co-chair