Klementina Sula immigrated to the United States from Albania at age 9 when her father won the green card visa lottery. Since arriving in America, Sula has made the most of the experiences and opportunities available here.
“I know that my life in Albania would have been very different. Given the sacrifices that my parents made, I don’t think I would have forgiven myself if I didn’t take advantage of every opportunity,” says Sula, College Connections coordinator for LSA Development.
Photo by visiproductions.com.
Sula worked hard in high school to gain admission to U-M and to earn the prestigious Bentley Scholarship, which she says enabled her to immerse herself in numerous experiences including the Michigan in Washington Program, a summer internship at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev, Ukraine, and a six-month study-abroad stint in Madrid.
After graduating in 2007, she started working for LSA Development and began graduate studies at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. This spring, she is graduating with her second master’s — a degree in higher education with a concentration in philanthropy, advancement and development from the School of Education.
Throughout all of her experiences, Sula says her greatest passion has been connecting with people and building meaningful relationships. Sula’s work with College Connections allows her to do just that: to travel around the nation — and the world — to connect with LSA alumni.
Sula works with alumni to learn how a U-M education impacted their lives post-graduation, to get feedback about LSA today, and to strengthen or re-establish relationships between alumni and the university.
“Our alumni are our greatest resource. College Connections is a way to show them how valuable they are to us and the future of the College of LSA,” Sula says.
Though most of Sula’s visits are within Michigan or around the United States, she did have the opportunity to interview alumni overseas. While interning with the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, she visited alumni living abroad who were once international students as well as current American expats.
This includes 1986 alumnus Eric Berman, who has lived in Geneva since 2004. Sula remembers how Berman said he had lost touch with U-M, but meeting with her reminded him how important his experience at Michigan had been. When Berman was back in the United States for business, he stopped in Ann Arbor to give a talk on his work with the Geneva-based research organization Small Arms Survey. He also attended a football game and jogged around campus just like when he was a student 25 years ago.
“Even though he lives on the other side of the Atlantic, he made an effort to come back,” Sula says. “Within six months, he reconnected with the University of Michigan. This attests to the power of College Connections in increasing alumni engagement.”
Sula says that her immigrant background and experiences overseas helped her build international alumni connections in order to represent the unique perspective international alumni can provide to the U-M community.
The insights and wisdom Sula has gained by connecting with more than 700 alumni have made her job rewarding, she says. Because so many people have invested their time and energy in talking with her, Sula feels it’s important and gratifying to “pay it forward” by sharing these lessons with others.
She mentors freshman and sophomore Bentley Scholars, giving back to other recipients of the award that defined her time at the university.
Sula also uses her education and experience in development to give back to the Albanian American community. She fundraises for the Gjergj Kastrioti Scholarship, which helps to fund Albanian American students as they pursue college degrees. One day, Sula dreams of becoming the U.S. ambassador to Albania.
The weekly Spotlight features staff members at the university. To nominate a candidate, please contact the Record staff at [email protected].
