L E T T E R F R O M T H E A L U M N I A S S O C I A T I O N P R E S I D E N T Dear Alumni and Friends: I t is my pleasure to welcome you to the fall issue of Robert Wood Johnson Medicine! This summer we welcomed Jillian Prior as our new manager of alumni affairs. Jillian brings expertise and In the upcoming weeks we will begin planning for our 29th Annual Career Night in the Great Hall which enthusiasm and I am delighted that she will be developing new ways to reach a greater alumni base. will take place on March 7, 2017. I hope you will come out to meet our current students, represent your specialty, and provide insight into your career choices and daily lives. We are interested in expanding the scope of represented specialties and welcome new participants. For those of you who would like to reconnect by mentoring medical students, The Day in the Life Program is a great opportunity. It is a goal of mine to offer our students the opportunity to meet and network with alumni during their clinical years while they are on away rotations or on the interview trail. If you are interested in being part of our Day in the Life Program or Career Night, please reach out to Jillian at jillian.prior.@rwjms.rutgers.edu. The 7th Annual Scholarship Gala will take place Saturday evening, April 8, 2017 at The Heldrich in New Brunswick. We will celebrate the anniversaries of the following classes: 45th: 1972, 40th: 1977, 35th: 1982, 30th: 1987, 25th: 1992, 20th: 1997, 15th: 2001, 10th: 2007, and 5th: 2012. Through our other fundraising efforts, the Alumni Association provides additional scholarships and low interest loans to students. Thank you for your continued dedication to helping students defray the ever-rising costs of medical education. Without your steadfast support, the dream of becoming a physician may not have been possible for many of our students. Your education has provided you with great opportunities and you have accomplished much. Please share your career, practice, and family updates for our “class notes” with Jillian and also join our Facebook group, “Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Alumni Association.” I am happy to have served as the Alumni Association President for these past two years, and I am looking forward to staying involved as a board member. I want to thank my fellow Board of Trustees members for all the work they have done and continue to do. It is my hope that we can continue to grow our alumni base, strive for excellence, and accomplish great things together in 2017. Sincerely, STEVE HOCKSTEIN Sonia Garcia Laumbach, MD ’99 P.S. Please visit our website at http://support.rutgers.edu/RWJMSAlumni to support student scholarships and loans, or mail your gift in the enclosed envelope. Please also make sure to provide us with your updated contact information so we can stay in touch with you at http://rwjms.rutgers.edu/alumni/update.php Robert Wood Johnson I MEDICINE 35