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Pat Anderson

For the past 50 years, the Alumni Association Travel Program has provided educational and economical trips for our alumni and friends, building lifelong relationships and creating opportunities to reconnect with the University along the way.

Pat Anderson, director of the Alumni Association Travel Program, is at the hub of all the action, having planned trips and accompanied NIU travelers for the last 23 years. In all, Anderson celebrated 30 years of work at the University this spring.

“I feel fortunate to have the position I have at NIU,” Anderson said. “I have met so many interesting and wonderful people, and I consider them my friends now. Some of the travelers have gone on 20 or 30 trips with us, and I have really gotten to know them. I love hearing the stories about when they went to NIU and to watch how they bond with other alumni over those stories.”

What brings travelers back to the program for repeat trips? Anderson thinks she knows the answer.

Travel Program: Paris, 1998

“Our program is different than most other university or association trips because just about everyone in our group has an association to NIU, whether they are alumni themselves, have children, a spouse, or a friend who graduated from NIU. There is a bond there,” she said.

In her years at the helm of the program, Anderson has seen the travel program grow significantly. In 1998, when she was first asked to lead a trip, there were only two trips a year. Over time, this increased to four, then six trips annually. In 2020, before trips had to be postponed due to the pandemic, the travel program was on track to complete nine trips in total!

Having personally traveled on more than 100 trips with the program, Anderson is a true pro. One of her secrets? She has duplicates of certain items she often travels with always packed and ready to go.

Travel Program: Great Wall of China, 2006

“When I first started this job, I had not been a big traveler, and it was new for me,” she said. “But my children were older and on their own, so it was a new adventure. I think I have been able to maintain a good balance between my family and my traveling, so that I can still be a part of my children’s and grandchildren’s lives the way I want to.”

Some of Anderson’s most precious travel program memories were when travelers donated supplies to rural schools in Costa Rica and Peru.

Anderson says she could not begin to pick a favorite location where she has traveled. However, there are still incredible moments that catch her off guard in her travels.

“There are those moments you find yourself standing somewhere of great significance—the Colosseum in Rome, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Machu Picchu in Peru were some of these places for me—where you think, ‘how am I standing here right now?’”

The consummate professional and perfectionist, Anderson puts dozens of hours and care into each trip, and NIU travelers notice the difference with her level of service. For this kind of dedication, she received the NIU Supportive Professional Staff Presidential Award for Excellence in 2015.

Bill Marutzky, ’68, M.A.S. ’73, participated in the program’s recent trips to Panama and Israel and was impressed by Anderson’s ability to be a calming presence at all times.

“I don’t know how Pat Anderson can keep her smile in times of stress,” he said. “From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., she is always so congenial, she always has a big smile, and she is so friendly under pressure.”

As Anderson looks back on her years redefining and expanding the travel program, she is excited for what is to come. While travel was postponed during the pandemic, she is planning several upcoming trips once it is safe to do so, including one to Antarctica in December 2021, a Douro River Cruise in Portugal for April 2022, and a Canadian Rockies Adventure in May 2022.

Anderson cannot wait until travelers can be together again safely. With recent global events, safety concerns are foremost in Anderson’s mind as new travel opportunities are being planned.

“Our alumni travel program provides a benefit and a service for our alumni and friends,” Anderson said. “We want to assist. We want to guide. We want to lead. And all of that helps connect people to Northern. That is our mission—to provide this link that creates opportunities to connect and interact with the University community and, in turn, build a lifelong relationship with NIU.”

 

Alumni Association Travel Program 2022

Portugal

Southern Spain and Madrid
March 10-18, 2022

Portugal – Douro River Cruise
April 4-15, 2022

Canadian Rockies Adventure
May 12-21, 2022

Ireland Escapade
Sept. 8-17, 2022

Watch for more information on this upcoming trip:

Prague Vacation
October 2022