When you talk to Jordyn Mitchell ’20, you feel like you’re speaking to sunshine personified.
It’s fitting her Zoom background features a sky full of cartoon suns, each one with a cheerful face beaming in the center, Teletubbies-style, belonging to day10 volunteers leaving the board. Or, as day10 affectionately calls them: the sunsetters.
Mitchell is the newest chair of day10, the University of Dayton’s young alumni executive committee for graduates within their first 10 years after graduation. She recently stepped into the role and, if her Zoom background is any indication, she fits right in.
Mitchell laughed when it came up. “I still had the background up and I was like, I only use Zoom for UD. Why change it?”
That kind of easy loyalty to people, to place and to community has defined Mitchell’s relationship with the University of Dayton since before she ever stepped on campus. Growing up in Mason, Ohio, she had her sights set elsewhere. “I really wanted to go to Alabama,” she said. “I wanted to go south. I wanted to be at a big football school.”
A recruiting letter from UD’s track and field program put Dayton on her radar. A campus tour sealed it, not because of the facilities or the football, but because of the people. A stop at UD’s Multi-Ethnic Education and Engagement Center (MEC) solidified her decision.
Mitchell knew that finding a sense of belonging would shape her next four years. The MEC staff understood that.
“They were telling me how it was kind of like a home away from home,” she said.
Building Something that Lasts
Mitchell spent her four years at UD building the community MEC promised her on that first visit.
By her sophomore year, she landed a student engagement assistant position in MEC, a role she held for her remaining three years on campus. She also completed a three-year internship with the athletic department, staying connected to the sports management program where she majored.
“I feel like I was involved in so many things and nothing at the same time,” she said, laughing.
The list tells a different story: president of her chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.; president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council; UD diversity peer educator; UD peer mentor; UD campus unity committee; UD student government association.
One of her proudest accomplishments didn’t come until after she graduated. Mitchell was part of the team, led by Destiny Watson ’20, that for years advocated for and designed the National Pan-Hellenic Council plots outside of Kennedy Union, a tribute to UD’s historically Black Greek letter organizations.
“We left our legacy on campus when we didn’t even think it was possible when we got there freshman year,” Mitchell said. “Dr. Spina gave us the platform to be able to do that, and it was amazing. Now people come from all over to take pictures there, read the plaques and appreciate the history behind them. We kind of have that stamp on UD history.”
She returned for the unveiling during UD Black Alumni Weekend 2021 and delivered a speech to past and present members of those organizations, students, fellow Black alumni and community leaders.
“I always hold that near and dear to my heart,” she said.
Life After Graduation, Flyers Everywhere
Mitchell worked at Nike before landing a role in pharmaceutical sales at Eli Lilly, where she now works in marketing operations and project management. Her path to get there ran through the UD network.
“When I was interviewing, the two people who interviewed me were UD graduates,” Mitchell said.
The interview was on a Friday. By Monday, she had the job.
“UD talks about community and connection a lot, but this is not the first time I’ve had UD connections to get roles or internships or anything like that,” she said. “The community is super active.”
New Chair, Clear Mission
Mitchell stepped into the day10 chair role this summer. She’s still shaping her goals for the coming fiscal year, but one priority is clear: reach young alumni where they are.
“When I graduated in 2020, I moved from my house at UD back home to Mason, then decided to live with my best friend downtown in Cincinnati, then got a new job and moved to Louisville, then Columbus, then back to Mason for three months, then Milwaukee, and now Indianapolis,” she said. “When I joined day10, they didn’t have the right city or state that I was living in. I didn’t know I needed to update that information. I didn’t know about the alumni communities.”
For Mitchell, solving that is the foundation of everything else: more volunteers, more donors, more letter-writers for graduating seniors.
“If we get people connected and can continue to reach them, that’s when they’ll start volunteering more, that’s when they’ll start donating more, that’s when they’ll start writing letters to graduating seniors,” she said. “Things change. Life happens. But we need to stay connected as much as possible.”
Her ask for fellow young alumni is straightforward: “Please update your contact information! Let us know where you live. We will not stalk you, but we would like to send you mail.”
A Message for Fellow Young Flyers
Mitchell’s connection to UD has held through six cities and several career changes. She wants that for everyone who came through the University.
“UD gave me so much as a student and as a person,” she said. “I don’t think I would be the person I am today if I did not attend the University of Dayton and go through four years of college, whether that was struggle, success, heartache, pain, highlights, joy, community. I would just hope that people feel equally as grateful to want to give back to the place that gave so much to us.”
Her message for young alumni:
“Stay connected and stay involved.”