Student Sendoffs

Freshmen perform the Whoosh during a special send-off at the Houston home of Kal Malik BS'86 and his wife, Feli Wong. The freshmen and their families met with alumni at the event.  

Shikha Mittal MBA’03 headed west after graduation from UT Dallas, eventually landing at a startup in San Jose, California, where she spent 10 years away from the campus she loved during her time as a business student. Mittal and 70 other alumni recently attended a San Francisco Bay Area alumni chapter event to strengthen ties to one another and their alma mater. 

“The connection with UTD was almost fading,” Shikha Mittal said. “But meeting other alumni and hearing stories from recent graduates helped rekindle the college connection. I left the event with a feeling of belonging, and a new understanding of how well the school and its graduates are doing.”

Alumni have created several new chapters over the past year and ramped up current chapters’ offerings, providing opportunities for graduates to help current students and to create strong professional and social links.

Kal Malik BS’86, his wife Feli Wong, and son Daniel Malik BA’05, welcomed freshmen and their families to their home during a recent Houston chapter event.

“It was a thrill to meet bright young people excited about attending UTD,” Kal Malik said. “Several distinguished alumni took time to attend and share their UTD experiences with these young people. I am confident that listening to these success stories was a nice morale booster for the students.”

Alumni Chapters

What are the top metro areas in the United States to find UT Dallas alumni? The Dallas-Fort Worth area, Houston and Austin lead the way, but graduates also have a strong presence in the San Francisco Bay Area, Washington, D.C., New York City and Chicago, which all have alumni chapters.  

Graduates are using chapters to create valuable networks of alumni with similar professional, social and educational backgrounds. Chapters exist for Debate, Healthcare Management,  PowerGrid and the Eugene McDermott Scholars Alumni Association.

“We want to develop a community where we can help each other professionally and at the same time help to promote the brand name of the school,” said Sahil Goyal MBA’11, one of the Bay Area chapter organizers.

The Indian Alumni Network is doing just that. The network’s most recent event paired current students with graduates to discuss résumés, internships, networking strategies and conducting job searches. The group also is working to reduce the financial burden of college through scholarships. So far, 11 students have received scholarship support through the Indian Alumni Network. 

“We are thrilled that alumni around the U.S. are organizing in an effort to connect, network and engage with fellow Comets and we look forward to continuing to be a strategic partner,” said Melinda Ellis, director of alumni relations.

If you’re looking for ways to utilize your 90,000-plus alumni network, contact your regional representative and find other alumni on LinkedIn and Facebook. If there isn’t a chapter in your area and you would like to start one, please email alumni@utdallas.edu.