Week 1 - Welcome to Macker Monopoly!

Your favorite Gus Macker class (and only Gus Macker class in the world!) is back in full swing and ready to embrace Macker Monopoly 2023. This week was all about introductions, inspirations and the team seeing itself as a unit for the very first time.

This Gus Macker year is unlike any before with “old school” Gus being transformed and merged with Mr. Monopoly. Every single choice was made with Monopoly in mind. Take for instance our shirt colors! Each of us received a Monopoly property card color to correspond with our categorized teams. Those teams include Fundraising, Team Bonding, Community, Special Events, Promotions and TA’s (teaching assistants).

No detail was too small for T.O! From the custom cookies to the individual name tags, the Finch 100 classroom was transformed to Macker Monopoly at its core. The room was bursting at the seams with excited newbies and inspired Macker alums.

We heard from our TA and graduate student, Kaitlyn Coons, about what inspires her to be an ongoing member of the Gus Macker class for the third year in a row. U.S. Marine veteran and Gus Macker alum, Shane Taylor, gave us some insight into the early days of Gus Macker and what brought him back to us as graduate TA and Macker National Staff member. Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement, Mackenzie Miller, explained that she was joining us this year as a TA protégé in preparation for a TA role in 2024. And our trusted and true TA, Summer Sharrard-Neering, will be both telecommuting and commuting frequently from Grand Rapids just to be with us for another Gus-tastic year! All of our TA’s are members of the CMU Gus Macker Hall of Fame!

That is a lot of love for Gus Macker and dedication to the new students joining the legacy of Gus Macker in Finch Fieldhouse. We are so excited to share the upcoming weeks leading to festival weekend!