{"id":86421,"date":"2026-01-15T18:38:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T18:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/?post_type=stories&#038;p=86421"},"modified":"2026-01-15T20:02:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:02:35","slug":"the-spirit-of-eastern","status":"publish","type":"stories","link":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/news\/the-spirit-of-eastern\/","title":{"rendered":"The Spirit of Eastern"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-86429 img-fluid\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/01\/20210818-KelseyBrecek-Hatch-006-Edit-web-copy-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"507\" height=\"699\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>One of my greatest privileges<\/strong> as alumni director is witnessing the impact of our graduates. Each day I am reminded of the passion, pride, and unwavering commitment that define our 125,000-strong alumni community. I see Eagles stepping up\u2014mentoring students, attending regional gatherings, cheering on our teams, sharing their stories and carrying the spirit of Eastern into their communities and workplaces around the world.<\/p>\n<p>Your engagement matters. Whether you join an event, volunteer your expertise, support scholarships or simply wear your red on Fridays, you help strengthen the Eagle4Life experience for generations to come. Our team is here to help, and we remain focused on building meaningful opportunities that keep you connected\u2014to each other, to campus, and to the future of EWU.<\/p>\n<p>I encourage you to get involved in whatever way fits your life right now. Each action\u2014large or small\u2014strengthens our community and helps shape the future of Eastern. In 2026, the Alumni Association is expanding opportunities for you to engage\u2014on campus, on the road and online. From career networking to regional meet-ups and enhanced traditions, we\u2019re creating more ways for you to stay connected, give back and celebrate what it means to truly be an Eagle.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you for your continued enthusiasm, generosity and love for this university. Together, we are writing the next chapter of what it means to be an Eagle4Life.<br \/>\nGo Eags!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-86423 img-fluid\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/01\/kelseySignatures-02-copy-300x144.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"267\" height=\"128\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/01\/kelseySignatures-02-copy-300x144.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/01\/kelseySignatures-02-copy.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 267px) 100vw, 267px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Kelsey Hatch-Brecek,<br \/>\nDirector of Alumni Relations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of my greatest privileges as alumni director is witnessing the impact of our graduates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":484,"featured_media":86429,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-86421","stories","type-stories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","stories_categories-alumni","stories_tags-fall-winter-2025-26"],"acf":{"subheading":"","featured_image_format":"cover","display_byline":false,"display_featured_image":false,"display_date_published":false,"featured_video":"","Links":false,"Resources":false,"page_override_title":"","page_hide_sidebar":false,"page_enable_page_nav":false,"page_persona_bar_default_tab":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/86421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/stories"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/484"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/86421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86674,"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/86421\/revisions\/86674"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}