Baltimore Blue Hens a friendly flock

In addition to balancing a full-time job during the day and graduate school at night, Amanda Taylor, BE ’98, manages to find time for UD’s Blue Hens as the Baltimore area alumni coordinator.

Since 2003, Taylor has organized social networking events in area restaurants and bistros, from the Ropewalk Tavern in Federal Hill to Nick’s Fishhouse in south Baltimore. The annual Orioles game in June is a popular event, Taylor says, and UD Hens can be found flocking beforehand at the Warehouse at Camden Yards.

Taylor says two of her biggest challenges are finding venues with a room big enough for alumni to gather and enough parking. “It’s a decent amount of work,” Taylor says. “You have to find a place that is convenient and that people can find. I try to find a place that has a separate room and a place that will offer us a good price.

“The O’s game is always popular among alums and their families. For the younger alums in the area, the purely social events are the most popular, and we get anywhere from 60 to 100 guests at our gatherings. There is a lot of networking, mostly through conversations, although I’m sure many business cards get exchanged.

“It’s a really young group of people. Most of them have graduated in the last 10 to 15 years, and I try to keep many of our activities focused toward them.”

In December, Taylor and 12 other alumni formed a committee to brainstorm ideas for alumni events and to research new venues around the city. Taylor says the committee came up with a list of possible activities, including forming a Blue Hen team to compete in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure for breast cancer and volunteering at the Maryland Food Bank.

During her first few years in Baltimore after graduation, Taylor says she looked for an area alumni organization to join. “I would go places and I’d see people I knew who went to Delaware,” she says. “I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try to do something.”

She contacted UD’s alumni office and volunteered to bring the Baltimore Blue Hens together. “I was very nervous about the first event I hosted. I was so afraid nobody would come, and yet, more than 100 alums showed up,” Taylor says.

“There really have been no events that I’ve hosted that did not attract a significant amount of alums,” she says. “The Baltimore alumni still have very strong ties to UD, and they want to continue to be part of the UD community here.”

Taylor says she has made new friends since she began organizing alumni and plans to continue as coordinator. “I really enjoy planning events,” she says. “I like to do it because everyone is usually having a good time, and it’s nice to have everyone together.”

Baltimore area alumni are invited to contact Taylor via e-mail at [UDBaltalumni@yahoo.com].

— Julia Parmley AS ’07