Not for nothing San Diego State University Executive Director I am a graduate and live in Roma Portal.
Our community has a population comparable to major metropolitan areas like Atlanta, Miami, and New Orleans, and is roughly the size of the state of Wyoming. San Diego State University’s alumni community has reached an incredible new milestone.
San Diego State University’s May commencement marked the 500,000th living alumni mark, now a global network of more than 500,000. Aztecs can be found all over the world, but the majority remain here: 60 percent in the San Diego area across the border, and 75 percent in California. If you’re reading this in San Diego, like me, there’s a very good chance you’re a San Diego State graduate or know someone who is.
We need to understand the exceptional nature of having 500,000 people at a single institution. This phenomenon is highly visible in U.S. higher education, and very few universities have achieved this milestone.
A college degree at any level, but especially at the graduate level, directly contributes to an individual’s social mobility, including their job competitiveness and ability to earn a high salary. This is something SDSU is known for. Not only are SDSU degrees highly sought after (more than 110,000 students applied last fall), but our graduates are also in high demand with employers. And that value extends to local economies. Cities with a high percentage of college-educated people (such as Boston, Washington DC, Seattle, and San Francisco) tend to be centers of innovation, arts, culture, and tax revenue. This is attractive to tourists, potential new residents, and businesses looking to partner or invest.
This is why when SDSU and its students win, San Diego wins.
Half a million people is not just a testament to the university’s academic excellence; it’s also a testament to the impact it has on the local community. The scale of interconnectedness of half a million people is staggering, but what it really reflects is the deep, 127-year-old connection between SDSU and the city.
Many SDSU graduates serve in local and state public office. Our graduates are medical professionals who lead health organizations and support you. They are philanthropists who donate to local education and arts organizations. They are authors, performers and entertainment executives who create books, films and other works enjoyed locally and around the world. Many are business owners, hosting watch parties for Aztecs fans and helping to promote SDSU pride.
The growth and success of our alumni community is what drives SDSU’s continued growth as one of the nation’s most highly regarded universities and helps empower the success of new generations of Aztecs. Alumni help drive the Aztec Mentor Program, which pairs thousands of current students each year with established professionals for career guidance. Alumni also represent many of the 100,000 career and internship opportunities provided to students each year through SDSU Career Services.
SDSU graduates are changing the world and creating new opportunities. Many of San Diego’s small businesses, tech startups, cultural institutions and nonprofits owe their existence or longevity to this extensive alumni network. Our alumni are change architects, progress agents and opportunity creators both locally and globally, including former NASA astronaut Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman in space and recent recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom; Hollywood producer and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy; late Padres player Tony Gwynn, who is a Hall of Famer; former San Diego mayor and San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Jerry Sanders; Chase Fisher, founder of Blenders Eyewear; and Class of 2024 graduate Lamont “Buzzer Beater” Butler.
As we reflect on this milestone, let us not only celebrate our past achievements, but also strive to ensure that our University continues to be a beacon of knowledge, a catalyst for change, and a source of inspiration for generations to come. Half a million alumni is certainly an incredible achievement, but the true measure of our success lies not simply in numbers, but in the lives we have touched and the legacy we leave behind.
