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Alumni Month Of Service Logo

April is UNO Alumni Month of Service

To continue UNO’s legacy of community service, alumni and friends make pledges to volunteer throughout the month.   

In 2024, 191 UNO alumni and friends donated 1,874 hours of community service!

Alumni Month of Service Stories

Read stories from Mavericks about their projects and why they volunteer below. Together, we are continuing UNO’s legacy of community service.

Phoenix Mavericks

Members of the UNO Alumni Chapter in Phoenix helped pack emergency food boxes at St. Mary’s Food Bank. The boxes will be distributed throughout Arizona to families experiencing food insecurity.

Matt McMaster

Matt McMaster (BS, 1998) is a volunteer facilitator at The Family Room Church Food Pantry. In April, they hosted a community resource fair featuring a free workshop by a national speaker and author. The event also included 15 community partners offering free resources to those in need and a warm meal. McMaster helped coordinate, schedule, promote and provide hours of manual labor to execute the event. Fellow alum, Michael Monico (BS, 2023), and McMaster’s daughter, Ayana, a sophomore at UNO also volunteered their time.

“I continue to volunteer because we are all in need of something; rich or poor, young or old,” said McMaster.

Emily Geest

Emily Geest (MS, 2017) volunteers at Insect Adventure, an extension insect-themed science center in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Geest helps create outreach activities like making insect headband name tags, creating lady beetle walking stones for a garden and stir-frying some mealworms for an edible insect activity.

“My favorite part of volunteering is watching people develop an interest in science and become less fearful of insects,” said Geest.

Gene Kathol

Since retiring, Gene Kathol (BS, 1969) served on the Board of Directors of Nebraska Trout Unlimited for 16 years including two as President. He is now a volunteer Youth Education Coordinator helping teach school-aged children about raising trout, their food sources and how to fly fish throughout the state of Nebraska. He travels to outdoor events hosted by the Nebraska Game and Parks to share his appreciation and expertise.

“I want kids to learn about and appreciate the outdoors so there will still be advocates for the appreciation of the outdoor resources that we have for future generations,” said Kathol.