In March, alumni in the Dallas-Fort Worth area joined the ranks of their counterparts in cities such as Des Moines, Kansas City, and Chicago and formed the Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Alumni Board (DFW RAB). The board seeks to strengthen and build the Drake community in their region. by connecting alumni with one another, hosting events, reaching out to prospective and admitted students to welcome them to Drake, and much more.
Board Chair, Adam Graves, JO’16, GR’19, holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations and a masters of communication leadership from Drake. Adam’s involvement with Drake runs deep. As a student, he was in a social fraternity, planned student activities, sang in an a capella group, and more. Graves currently works at Ethos, a marketing firm in Irving, Texas.
“I had such an amazing experience at Drake. I joined the board because I wanted to give back to Drake and develop the alumni community here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area,” Grave said, “Drake does a great job at this on campus. Most alumni you talk to, you hear the passion of how Drake transformed their lives. I am excited to be a part of the board that will continue to provide bulldogs with the opportunity to foster long-term relationships.”
Five other alumni join Adam as committee chairs.
Kris Antony, BN’03, is the sporting events chair, and he will organize Drake Me Out to the Ballgame and Kicking It with Drake events, as well as Drake game viewing parties. Anthony says he is looking forward giving back and connecting with those with similar experiences. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Drake and he manages Contract/SOX Compliance for Verizon’s Global Procurement Operations.
Carl Budenski, BN’16, sought out the admissions chair position.
“I wanted to be on the RAB, and specifically be the admissions chair so that I could share my wonderful Drake experience with young people, and hopefully keep the strong pipeline of incredible students flowing into the student body,” Budenski said.
While at Drake, he was involved with the College of Business and Public Administration, Greek life, and intramural sports. Budenski holds degrees in finance and economics and works as a senior associate in the tax group at RSM, an accounting firm, as a Senior Associate in the Tax Group.
Mary Stelter, FA ’72, and Eric Gudmundson, AS’10, JO’10, are the communications co-chairs.
Gudmundson moved to Dallas in 2015 and currently works as a Senior Campus Success Consultant for Ready Education, a higher education tech company. After graduating from Drake with bachelor’s degrees in public relations and sociology, Gudmundson received his master’s degree in student affairs in higher education from Miami University.
“When I first moved to Dallas, I reached out to other Drake alums in the area to find a familiar community in a new city,” Gudmundson said, “As a part of the DFW RAB, I’m excited to plan events for other alums around DFW and to ignite more Bulldog pride in the Lone Star State.”
Stelter has a bachelor’s degree in art education from Drake. She is an interior designer and owner of Penny-Stelter, Inc. and lives in Fort Worth with her husband, Steve, JO’72, another Drake alum.
“Hopefully this board can connect all alums in our area with each other and with what is happening at Drake,” Stelter said, “I want to provide an active reconnection that will give support and benefits to Drake and its future.”
Bob Luxen, FA’73 serves as the philanthropy chair. He is from Des Moines and graduated from Drake with a bachelor’s degree in communications. While at Drake, he worked as an assistant to Professor Jon Ericson and was involved in SAE fraternity. Luxen graduated from Southern Methodist University Law School in 1976 and has practiced law in Dallas since then, and is a founding partner of the law firm of Hallett & Perrin.
“Serving on the Regional Alumni Board is a great way to continue my relationship with Drake and to share my meaningful Drake experience with the Dallas community, Drake alums, and prospective Drake students,” Luxen said.
Luxen previously served on the Drake National Alumni Board and coordinated the Dallas project for Drake’s National Day of Community Service (DU Good Day). He has also assisted in recruiting Dallas-area high school students for Drake.
Get Involved
The DFW RAB would love to hear from other alumni in the area. Contact Amelia Klatt, assistant director for Alumni Relations (amelia.klatt@drake.edu) with ideas or to request more information. Area alumni can also join the Dallas-Fort Worth Facebook group to get updates and stay connected.