Alumnus, soon-to-be MBA graduate ready to revitalize alumni relations strategy
Indiana University Northwest has a Director of Alumni Engagement for the first time in several years. Meet Elgis Streeter, the newest addition to the University Advancement and External Affairs team.
Streeter, an IU Northwest alumnus and soon-to-be Master of Business Administration graduate, began in his role in May and is excited to continue connecting with alumni and bringing the fun back to alumni engagement.
“It’s great to be back,” Streeter said. “It’s just that feeling of being close to your alma mater. I feel like I’m putting the time in to give back and making sure the next generation that comes up has the same experiences that I had.”
Streeter returns to IU Northwest after spending years teaching at Gary high schools and working at Ivy Tech Community College, where he served as a minority male coordinator for five years and tutored for an additional five years.
While he never originally thought he’d get into teaching, Streeter loved spending time in a classroom. Eventually, however, he needed a change of pace. Luckily enough, there was a position at his alma mater that suited him perfectly.
“I enjoy working with people, making connections and I also have the creativity to do fun things,” Streeter said. “That’s what really stood out to me about this position.”
A Gary native, Streeter has spent his entire life in Northwest Indiana, graduating from West Side Leadership Academy and working in the area since then.
Like many IU Northwest students, he also knows what returning to school is like. After beginning at Ivy Tech in 2012, Streeter came back to IU Northwest several years later, graduating in 2020 with a general studies degree with a concentration in communications. He began the Weekend MBA program last year.
He said the biggest motivator to return to school was seeing positions above him he knew he had the skills to do but couldn’t pursue because he didn’t have an undergraduate degree. Many of the nearly 30 percent of IU Northwest students ages 25 and up are in the same position, using their education to complete a lifelong goal or move up in their careers.
He’s hopeful to inspire future students like he was inspired by James Wallace, the Director of the Officer of Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs at IU Northwest.
“One of my biggest motivations was watching Dr. Wallace,” Streeter said. “Watching him as a student going back to further his education while working and helping others lit a fire for me to achieve and continue my career.”
Streeter is thankful for his time at and connection to IU Northwest and he’s hopeful to build, or rebuild, that connection with the more than 29,000 RedHawk alumni. Short-term, that means introducing himself to alumni and showing them what they can do for IU and what IU can do for them.
“I’m here to bring the fun back to alumni engagement,” Streeter said. “I really want to bring the fun, bring the engagement back for our alumni so they can be energized to donate, volunteer or help out in any way they can.”
While filling a position that has been void for half a decade is no easy task, Streeter said he’s excited at the prospect of starting with a new slate and putting together events alumni will enjoy enough to keep coming back.
Streeter said he’s always open to ideas and encourages alumni and the campus to contact him with any thoughts or suggestions. Outside of work, he likes to play video games, watch movies and is a huge sports fan.
And, as the old sports cliché goes, IU Northwest’s alumni relations is currently in a rebuild. But with a new leader at the helm, he’s confident there are plenty of positive moments ahead.
“If you’re a sports fan, you know that phrase,” Streeter said. “Everyone I talked to, I used that phrase. We’re rebuilding and we’re going to get better.”
