What the Thunderbird Campus Weekend Tribute meant to me

At the age of eight, I determined I wanted to go to Thunderbird. Now, before you consider me this wonderfully ambitious young lady, the truth is it was motivated by a boy. Let me explain.

Remember your eight-year-old self? If you were anything like me you got dragged around to your parent’s parties when they couldn’t find a babysitter. At least that was the case for me. I found out years later that my dad brought me to more parties than I should have normally attended because he made money on my unique ability to consistently win at backgammon. He’d send unsuspecting adults over to the corner where I sat near a backgammon board, convincing them to keep me company while equally making a friendly bet that they couldn’t beat me. He made a lot of money. 

One person he sent over at one memorable party was the grandson of the party host. He was likely 20 years old and I fell in love with him the moment he said, “mind if I play?” He went to Thunderbird. He asked me what grade I was in, how I had gotten so good at backgammon and if I was fluent in French since my dad was French. I answered all and shared with pride that actually I had learned to speak French before I spoke English, to which he remarked, “someday you should think of going to Thunderbird.” And that is how my love of this school began over 40 years ago.

I literally fought to get into the American Graduate School of International Management. You see, at age eight I declared to my father that I was going to Thunderbird “for the rest of my life.” It seems I thought that boy would still be there. It was my Big Hairy Audacious Goal. The funny thing is, I thought it was a college (which I found out this weekend that at one point it did have an undergraduate school so I was not completely bonkers) to which I planned to go right after high school. Around junior year in high school, I decided to learn more about Thunderbird by writing to the school (back then we did NOT have the internet) so I could properly plan my future. When I received the materials I was in shock. It’s a graduate school?!? What is that? Dear God, where will I go for 4 years?? I won’t bore you with the details of what I did for 4 years, how I got accepted but deferred a semester and that I literally flew to Phoenix to meet with Brian the admissions counselor to plead my case that I needed to start at Thunderbird. Immediately. I would like to think my passion for the school shone through and I was accepted to the fall class of 1989. It truly ranks as one of the happiest days of my life. 

Which is why this weekend tribute to say goodbye to the Thunderbird campus has meant so much to me. I approached the weekend with trepidation but I left with hope and I was reminded of why this school, the program, and my many Tbird friends hold such a big place in my heart. Why trepidation you ask? Well, I came with a sense of closure -- the need to say goodbye to the school given my perception that the closure of the campus was truly the beginning of the end. As I spent time walking the campus, listening to the future plans, and hearing stories from other alumni who shared the same love of the school, I realized that Thunderbird and all it meant to so many of us need not die because of the campus closing. But we have to be active advocates for keeping that Thunderbird mystique alive or it truly will fade away. 

I had another epiphany this weekend, which frankly I was shocked I hadn’t realized earlier. What has transpired over the last few decades with Thunderbird are all the hallmarks of what a workforce experiences when their company has been acquired. The joys and sorrows, the constant drama that comes with it and the resignation that things have changed (with the jury out on whether for the better). Consider this:

1. As alumni of the school, we have experienced our fair share of constant drama due to shifting strategies -- MIM or MBA? AGSIM or Thunderbird? Thunderbird Global or Garvin? Laureate International or ASU? By the time we got to ASU as the latest strategy, I would guess most alums assumed that this was one more strategy shift. Who knew if it would stick? I now believe it will stick -- but the program and equity of what Thunderbird stood for will only succeed if we are behind it. That is certain.
2. As in many acquisitions, the communications around the repeated changes were poorly done and rarely transparent. Leadership made several decisions without input and were surprised when alumni reacted negatively. Reasons for the decisions were not well communicated and the true vision for the school program was not clear -- with most alums believing there was no vision which made the decision-making seem that much more irrational. While the communications have been poor at different stages, what I heard this weekend from Allen Morrison (Dir. General for Thunderbird), Dr. Michael Crow (ASU president) and Dr. Sanjeev Khagram (incoming Dir. General for Thunderbird) gives me hope. But as all Tbirds know -- hope is not a strategy. We all must play an active role if we expect the vision of Thunderbird’s future to be the reality. 
3. Each of us -- Tbird alums, leaders, teachers, staff -- have experienced to different degrees the stages of grief that are also typical of acquisition. I can only speak to mine but I suspect I am not the only one who is grieving the loss of the future that will not be. That future was the preservation of the Thunderbird I experienced on a campus in the middle of the desert. I spent a long time in denial because that was the only future I felt was reasonable. But changing market dynamics, competitors who gained on and surpassed us, and alumni who gladly maintained the mystique and powerful network but who did not give back consistently, all made for an unsustainable business model. It no longer makes sense to stay in denial. I would guess a good number of us have gone through all of the stages -- denial, anger, bargaining, depression, but we need to get to acceptance. If we hope for the Thunderbird program that we all cherished to be sustained, we need to actively contribute to its preservation.

Thunderbird has been a pioneer in international relations and business. The world caught up to us and we lost sight of what made Thunderbird unique, scrambling to keep up with other international programs and playing by their rules rather than defining the rules that others should follow. It makes me sad, but I know I play a role. Was I an active alumna? Sure if you consider going to Tbird Tuesdays, considering many Tbirds some of my best friends in the world and returning on occasion for reunions (though no reunion will ever match the one in Nov. 2011! Thank you, Merle!). After this weekend’s Campus Tribute, I have determined I can no longer be a backseat passenger to Thunderbirds future, merrily enjoying the ride while someone in the front drives and another gives directions.

Here is what I pledge to do:

1. I will actively and consistently provide feedback to curriculum development. Stephanie Lindquist, Deputy Provost and VP for Academic Affairs at ASU invited us to provide feedback during her remarks on Tribute weekend. She encouraged us to reach out, weigh in on the curriculum and provide our business expertise to how Thunderbird ASU educates the future globally minded students. One of the unique things about Thunderbird was how truly globally aware our students are. Now all campuses are a melting pot. In speaking to prospective students this weekend, I know we actively need to help the future programming if we have any hope of Thunderbird truly being the vanguard of global leadership development.
2. I will champion the efforts to have diverse voices heard that influence the way forward for Thunderbird. We cannot hope to be successful if we are fractured and have different alumni groups at odds. We also cannot be successful if we don’t include different perspectives. This includes male, female and multicultural voices but also goes beyond that. It includes voices from the different decades of Thunderbird’s past. I was struck in my many conversations with older alums by how much the school changed every decade. It seems for Thunderbird change has been a constant. Which is why it is so important to remember those elements that made Thunderbird so unique over the decades. We need to tap those older alums to preserve that history.
3. I will write a check for $1.0 million to go towards scholarships for deserving incoming students -- once I am in a position to do so. Okay, this last one may take a bit longer but I will absolutely do it.

I will miss the campus dearly. The thought of going to Thunderbird kept me going for so many years as a kid. I realized this weekend that I don’t need to say goodbye to what I loved. I simply need to play an active role in contributing to its future. I hope others will join me.

#Thunderbirdforever

With love, Jennifer J Fondrevay, Spring ’91 graduate, Tbirder for life

Thunderbird Mystique; Thunderbird; Alumni Group