AU appeals to minority graduates

Carmen and George Sneed don’t usually attend the A-Day game at Auburn University.

She graduated from AU in 1994 and her husband followed in 1996, and both are big Auburn fans, but the spring game has never been as important as the fall season, Carmen Sneed said.

However, this year was different. She said they decided to attend the game specifically because AU’s Minority Alumni Involvement Now was hosting a special tailgate event for minority alumni.

“It’s always been hard to make them come back,” said MAIN coordinator Tanja Matthews. “Nothing ties us back to Auburn besides that small group you graduate with.”

Saturday marked only the second year Auburn has had the opportunity specifically for minority alumni to reconnect with campus, faculty and fellow alumni, but the effort is working. Matthews, a 1992 alumna, said this year’s attendance was twice as much as last year.

“We just love Auburn and we want them to come back, whether they’re white, black, green or purple,” she said.

The Sneeds don’t need to be “reconnected” to campus, per se, but Carmen Sneed said they know that “for some people, A-Day is the only time they come back.” The family enjoyed the event and plan on returning, if not to see familiar faces, then for their daughters, Chloe, 5, and Maria, 3.

“They love coming to Auburn,” Sneed said. “They couldn’t wait for today.”

Carmen Sneed swears there’s no pressure on the girls becoming proud Auburn alumni some day. Matthews said the same thing of her children - Haley, named for the Haley Center, and Jordan, named after Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Demetrius Garner said his family has been Auburn fans since his cousin, Courtney Rose, played for the Tigers from 1997 to 2000. He’s a member of the Auburn family now as a freshman pre-pharmacy major. That means a great deal to him since he’s the first in his family to go to college.

The Town Creek native is a beneficiary of the Auburn Alumni Association’s PLUS (Provost Leadership Undergraduate Scholarship) program. Besides financial assistance, PLUS supports students academically and socially to ensure their success in college.

It is funded by alumni support and Garner said he hopes to return the favor some day.