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Liz McKee has recorded more than 7,500 volunteer engagements since her arrival in 2017.

Liz McKee, M.S.Ed. ’14, the NIU Alumni Association’s senior director of alumni engagement, loved playing sports while growing up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with her parents and three siblings.

McKee played softball while earning a bachelor’s degree at Elmhurst College (now Elmhurst University), but after two years of collegiate sports, she began instead to focus on working with campus organizations who were offering volunteering opportunities.

“I went to college to play softball, but that’s where I found myself, and got involved in service organizations that often participated in volunteer activities for great causes,” she said. “I think that was my first introduction to really becoming passionate about service.”

These were the roots that formed her career in mission-based service, which led her to her current position at the NIU Alumni Association.

“I thought NIU students could benefit from the alumni connection,” she said. “Through volunteering, alumni can see how the University meets its mission and continues to serve its unique population.”

McKee said there’s a need for volunteers to help NIU. That’s where she comes in, creating awareness about volunteer opportunities across campus to make it easy for alumni who have families and busy lives to volunteer.

“It’s always been my interest to make helping other people easy, enjoyable and beneficial for both the people they’re serving and the people who are participating,” she said. “So, I work with campus partners to make volunteering easy and accessible.”

McKee said alumni volunteering alongside students shows them how they might give back once they leave NIU as graduates.

“It’s really about enriching the student experience,” she said. “We strive to provide a quality education at NIU, and our volunteers add to that by sharing their perspective and general life experience with students. Alumni give students the opportunity to see themselves in their shoes and to think ‘you went to NIU and were successful, you experienced the same things I’m experiencing, but you made it through.’”

McKee said she loves working with students and alumni alike. “I really fell in love with NIU and its student base,” she said. “I like the idea that NIU has prepped them and sent them out into the world. Now, let’s show students what they can be once they’ve graduated.”

If you’re interested in volunteering with NIU, you can learn more at myniu.com/niunexus or contact Liz at lmckee1@niu.edu.