Volunteer Spotlight: Andrea Hart (B.A.’12)
Welcome to the first in a series of Q&As through the month of April that spotlight just a few of VCU’s most dedicated and committed alumni volunteers to celebrate National Volunteer Month. The series kicks off with VCU Alumni Council President Andrea Hart (B.A.’12), a Richmond resident who was elected as council president in 2025.
Tell us a little bit about your time at VCU.
I was at VCU from 2008-12 and graduated from the College of Humanities and Sciences with a bachelor’s in philosophy; I was one of nine in my class. Most folks take some of the gen ed classes … I was a forensic chemistry major my first year. I took one of those classes and I thought, “Oh my gosh, I need to change my major and get involved.” Not the most career-oriented major but the most tremendous help for me and my brain and what I do now, and how I can trace back some of those tidbits that I learned.
I turned 21 a week before that historic final run (VCU men’s basketball advancing to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament). There’s VCU’s history before, and VCU’s history after. I was a really good example of how much that event shaped my college career, sort of a microcosm of how much it shaped the university itself.
Did that experience increase your connection to VCU as an alum?
It absolutely did, because I still share it now. For people who were there at the same time or alums at that time, it stands out for all of us. It’s just one bit of connection: Where were you? Well, I was at Blackfinn downtown, or we were on spring break having smack talk. Without a doubt, that is one of the most monumental things in my history.
What have you been doing since graduating from VCU?
I went directly to the University of Richmond for law, with some other VCU women alums. Richmond is a pretty small community in general, and a pretty small legal community, so some of the folks I was in law school with, I know what they’re doing now. It’s definitely cool to watch all the different ways you can use your law degree. I graduated and went directly to Washington, D.C., and worked in government relations there. That’s where I really got connected for the first time with the concept of alumni and connecting with VCU Alumni through the DMV Chapter.
Tell us about your involvement with the DMV Chapter.
From that first happy hour the DMV Chapter did, that’s where I got to meet some of the leaders of that group, and decided almost instantly I wanted to participate in that group and be on their leadership team. We worked closely with our liaison at VCU Development and Alumni Relations on ways to make events more impactful. Then COVID happened.
(Hart moved back to Richmond at that time, and her VCU Alumni staff liaison suggested she apply to join the Alumni Council.)
I’m kind of a governance nerd, writing policies, how does the way this is written play out in real life. While the chapter and so much of VCU Alumni is facing the actual alumni base, the constituents, the council is more governance, what is the backbone, how do these policies come to be, are these committees doing the work that needs to get done, and how do volunteers interact with the DAR office and VCU.
We’re not necessarily alumni facing the way so many other entities or chapters are. We’re more internal facing, and how do we do all that infrastructure and make it work so when it is alumni facing, it is right, it looks how we want it to look, it provides value for the alumni base and for the university.
It’s definitely in the weeds. Some people don’t think that’s where they’re suited (but) I feel like this is where I can be impactful; that aligns very much with the woman who was president before me. We all have our own strengths and it aligns really well, and I see that evolution of our group going really well.
How much work is the role of president?
It ebbs and flows. We have three robust committees that have their own projects. The president is in charge of two meetings per year, making sure committees have what they need, listening to alumni feedback and being the representative for the alumni base to the university.
What was it like to speak at graduation as council president?
For me that’s going to be a lifelong memory, no doubt in my mind. That was a first for me.
That was a tradition that the previous president really solidified for the council to be represented at the graduation and welcome the alumni in. Those are the kind of monumental changes and pieces of value that being a council member can help you receive and then you can give that back to the grads and the alumni population.
How should other alumni get involved?
The nice thing about VCU Alumni is there are a lot of different ways to get your foot in the door. There are the city-by-city chapters; we’re always trying to make those impactful and have a bigger footprint. The impact that you can bring as a participant in those chapters is really going to have a butterfly effect.
If you just want to receive programming, vcualumni.org has the events list. Everything from asynchronous, to virtual, to book clubs, to in-person events. Social media through VCU Alumni is a good way to see what’s out there.
VCU Link is more of a peer-to-peer site, a way for you to interact with current students or new alumni who may have questions about your career field. I’ve had great conversations through VCU Link. There’s a lot of different ways to plug in.
What is the most rewarding thing about being involved with VCU Alumni?
It’s another microcosm of VCU. There’s so many different types of people in the council, there’s so many types of people involved in VCU. The diversity that was there at VCU when all of us were there, it is there tenfold for the alumni population. So the more you dig in and participate, the more you’re going to meet different people and get to know a lot more about what’s going on with them. I don’t think there’s any other way … maybe at work you’re around some different people, but the level of diversity that the VCU alumni population has is unmatched.
What have I not asked you that you’d like us to know about?
I would just reiterate that it’s really not as big of a lift as you think to just put your foot in the door, in any one of those ways. It’s becoming easier for VCU to communicate with us, so I feel like that’s going to translate (to make it) easier for people to choose their own adventure. I really give props to VCU Alumni for making strides in reaching people where they are and allowing them to participate in a way that works for them.
Categories Alumni