Minnesota State Community and Technical College - Moorhead is looking to its past to help enhance its future. Work is under way to create an alumni association that will connect graduates to the present-day college. While the association is still being developed, proud M State alumni Lucinda Melby has already agreed to serve as its first president. "As our campus nears its 45th anniversary, we realized there are many alumni from the Moorhead campus that we don't know about," said Provost Jerry Migler. "We'd like to do a better job of connecting with our alums to let them know what is happening in the programs they graduated from, as well as at the campus and college in general." Shawn Anderson, dean of student services, said M State -Moorhead began a new tradition this year of asking alumni to speak at graduation. Melby was recommended by several faculty members, and her passion for her alma mater prompted college officials to ask her to serve as the alumni association's first president. Melby, a native of the Hawley area, earned an accounting degree at M State, where she was chosen as the Student of the Year on the Moorhead campus and Minnesota Vocational Technical Student of the Year in 1984. All three of her brothers also graduated from M State, two in diesel mechanics and the other in air conditioning and refrigeration. Following her M State graduation, Melby attended North Dakota State University. She is currently a senior manager at Fiebiger, Swanson, West & Co., PLLP, a regional accounting firm with offices in Moorhead and Fargo. "It's wonderful to see M State - Moorhead growing and to have the opportunity to be a part of building -MORE- its future," Melby said. Anderson said the alumni association will be hosting events with the goal of "bringing alumni back to celebrate their involvement with the college." This will include more than 10,000 graduates who have attended the college under its four different names: Moorhead Area Vocational Technical Institute (the original name when the college opened in 1964-65), Moorhead Technical College, Northwest Technical College and now Minnesota State Community and Technical College "We want to make all alumni feel welcome," Anderson said. He anticipates that the alumni association will work closely with the Moorhead Community & Technical College Foundation, which focuses on fundraising for projects, scholarships and the college's endowment fund. Melby will be working with college officials to recruit alumni to serve on the association's volunteer board of directors. Interested alumni should contact Anderson at 218-299-6535.