By Katie RessmeyerThe Daily Northwestern
Andrew Thompson ate his Sunday dinner surrounded by eight Northwestern students, three faculty members and an alumnus.
No, this wasn’t the popular table in the Sargent Dining Hall. Rather, the Weinberg sophomore ate dinner at the home of an NU alumnus as part of Dinner with 12 Strangers, trading cafeteria lines for intimate conversations, and the hot cookie bar for lasagna and pumpkin pie.
“I had more big wigs this year,” said Thompson, who also attended the event last year. “I got to ask questions about career goals.”
The dinner Thompson attended was one of 20 held Oct. 27 to 29. Dinner with 12 Strangers offers NU students the opportunity to eat dinner at a Chicago home or restaurant with their peers, a Northwestern alumnus and university faculty.
Thompson said he plans to stay in contact with Thomas Gibbons, the dean of the School of Continuing Studies, who attended the dinner and gave Thompson advice about attending law school.
The Northwestern Alumni Association organized Dinner with 12 Strangers for the first time last fall after hearing about the program from peer institutions. The success of last year’s event encouraged NAA to continue the program.
“It helped this year, having seen the dinners last year,” said Katie Blank, the group’s assistant director of student services.
Students said they enjoyed not having to swipe their WildCARD for dinner and getting the chance to eat a home-cooked meal.
“It is nice to have a break from the cafeteria,” SESP sophomore Chelsea Plummer said. “There was good lasagna, too.”
But in addition to the comforts of home, Plummer said the dinner was an opportunity to talk to people she normally would not have met.
“It was a social night, but I took more away from it than the food,” Plummer said.
The faculty members who attend the dinners are a major draw for students, Blank said.
Participating faculty included Bill Carmody, head coach of the men’s basketball team, Athletic Director Mark Murphy and University Provost Lawrence Dumas.
The faculty members were a resource for students, answering questions about the university and giving insight into the real world.
The dinners are not solely intended to benefit the students – the alumni said they enjoy meeting their NU successors.
“It gives alumni the connections back to NU,” Blank said, noting that one participant was even flying into Chicago to host a dinner at an Evanston restaurant.
Host alumni are chosen based on suggestions from students and alumni association board members. The NAA invited 160 alumni to host a dinner and then narrowed the list down to 20.
In addition to the alumni hosts, student hosts help transport participants to and from the dinners, act as a liaison to the alumni and facilitate conversation at the event. Northwestern Class Alliance works with the NAA to organize the event and provides the student hosts.
Weinberg sophomore Jenny Cota, vice president of public relations for NCA, said she was eager to participate because she thought it would be a good way to meet people on campus. Cota said she was not disappointed.
“You’re supposed to come (with) 12 strangers and make 12 friends, and we did,” Cota said.
Reach Katie Ressmeyer at [email protected].
