Amy (Anderson) Stvartak graduated from ASMSA in 2011 and currently serves as the Executive Committee Chair and Administrative Liaison for the Association for Alumni and Friends of ASMSA. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Psychology (2015) at the University of Minnesota and her Master of Science in Nursing (2017) at Vanderbilt University. Amy works as a nurse practitioner with CHI St Vincent, specializing in family medicine with an emphasis on rural practice and geriatric management. She and her husband, Tony (Class of 2010), live in Mount Ida with their 1-year-old daughter, Ava, and their heeler mix, Elwood.
What are your goals and vision for the Association for Alumni and Friends of ASMSA?
The AAFA’s role is fundamentally about facilitating relationships. ASMSA alumni have a unique bond. It's really a special community. AAFA's mission is to foster connections between alumni, to offer mentorship to current students, and to develop a robust base of alumni support for ASMSA. My vision is to see that manifested in events throughout the year — some for alumni to spend time together, some to include current students as well — culminating of course in Homecoming each year in October.
What are the upcoming events planned for alumni?
AAFA facilitates an annual Homecoming event each October over the Columbus Day weekend which includes school tours, a faculty mixer, a showcase of student work, and class reunions. It seems a long way off now, but we'll be hammering out the details soon and would love to have more people involved.
Regarding reunions in particular: We do have a few classes who have been planning their own reunions very capably, but we've found that many classes don't have the resources to coordinate a big event like a reunion on their own. Our alumni are busy, successful people, and they're spread out all over the country. For several classes, it just never worked out, despite consistent feedback that class reunions are important to alumni. AAFA has taken on the challenge of planning and arranging reunions. Our goal is to make it possible for the classmates to simply get an invitation, make travel arrangements, and show up to the party. For those who want to be involved, we would love to work with you on planning these events.
How can alumni connect with ASMSA and the AAFA?
The best thing you can do is update your contact info on the ASMSA website so we can let you know about events and keep you up to date on ASMSA news. We are very intentional with the communications sent out.
All alumni are AAFA "members" simply by virtue of being alumni, and we welcome "friends of ASMSA" such as non-alumni attendees, former staff, and faculty. There are no dues or special requirements.
We would love to connect with you! You can contact us at alumni@asmsa.org or reach out to Robert Bryant, ASMSA Coordinator for Alumni and Community Relations, at bryantr@asmsa.org or 501.622.5316.