It¡¯s July ¨C time to congratulate and celebrate the students graduating across the UK. But there is also a tinge of sadness about graduation week. After all, for many students it is likely to be the last time they ever set foot on their alma mater¡¯s campus ¨C or see many of their peers. That¡¯s a great pity. And, as a British-American parent of American children, I know it doesn¡¯t have to be like that.

As a graduate of what was then Cardiff University¡¯s Journalism School back in 1991, I value my alumni community and Cardiff itself beyond measure. My postgraduate diploma gave me a career in journalism, a husband, colleagues and dear friends.

My undergraduate years at the University of Bristol were equally formative. And both Cardiff and Bristol have done a terrific job of staying in touch. That culminated with being asked to become the next chancellor of Cardiff ¨C which was honestly one of the greatest honours of my life.

Yet we in the UK have much to learn from the US, where I moved in 2004 to cover the presidential election for the BBC and where I have remained ever since. American universities are streets ahead of their UK counterparts in nurturing school spirit from the moment students receive an offer, creating enviable social and professional alumni networks that double as fundraising powerhouses.

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When our youngest son arrived on campus as a US freshman last August, he and his peers were welcomed as ¡°The Great Class of 2028¡±. Our middle son is forever a proud Cardinal from Wesleyan University¡¯s Class of 2024, while our oldest son is a Tiger (Princeton). I have lost count of the number of Cardinal and Tiger T-shirts, baseball caps, coffee mugs, pens, notebooks and water bottles cluttering up our apartment.

You can dismiss this stuff as daft and cheesy American branding ¨C but I have seen the effects up close, and the sense of belonging it helps to create is profound. It even extends to parents, who are invited to university receptions and lectures ¨C in the hope they¡¯ll reach deep into their pockets.

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This deliberate network-building is also strategic, boosting graduates¡¯ employability. My older sons got their entry-level jobs at least in part due to the alumni networks of their respective universities. Not only do US universities run their own online alumni networking portals, but the career platform Handshake (also used by some UK universities) is a powerful tool used by US students and graduates to connect with alumni employers.

This sense of belonging to an enduring social and professional community is something UK universities can replicate. Many already strive to do so, of course, but there¡¯s much more that can be done, even by Oxford and Cambridge.

That is why, at Cardiff, we¡¯re creating a new tradition. To coincide with this week¡¯s graduation ceremonies ¨C my first as chancellor ¨C we are launching an ambitious new alumni initiative that we hope can grow to rival those at US universities.

Specifically, we are launching a programme of what we are calling Big Reunion Weekends for alumni. For the first one, we¡¯ll be inviting the ¡°Great Cardiff Class of 2025¡± to return next year ¨C and then to keep coming back at five-year intervals for their milestone anniversaries.

Yes, this will cost money ¨C but it¡¯s an investment in the future of our graduates and our institution. Alumni giving rates at some elite US universities top 50 per cent annually ¨C something I would love to see at Cardiff. Yet the reunions initiative is fundamentally about helping our alumni develop a sense of vibrant, lifelong community that exists beyond the university¡¯s walls.

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In an uncertain time, when AI is transforming our lives at a rapid rate, human contact is more vital than ever. Our terminally online students tell us that mental health is one of their greatest concerns. Moreover, bumping into a classmate during your fifth?anniversary reunion can be invaluable when you¡¯re looking to change careers. Or maybe you¡¯ll rekindle an old flame!

There¡¯s a word in Welsh, hiraeth, that has no exact translation in English ¨C longing probably comes closest. That is how many graduates look back on their time at university. Life is never the same afterwards. It might not have seemed glorious at the time, cramming for exams and stressing about student loans. But never again will we live cheek by jowl with so many pals, growing up together, exploring intellectually while developing socially. What can possibly match the unconfined joy of the Wednesday night YOLO (You Only Live Once) disco at the Cardiff University Students¡¯ Union? Honestly, not much.

While all our Cardiff alumni from across the years are welcome to come to the Big Reunion Weekend, we are deliberately focusing on our new graduates. If we do this right they¡¯ll come to love the ritual of the reunion as they move through their lives.

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My American friends tell me their 25th college reunions are legendary affairs, a time to reconnect, reminisce and reflect. During my eldest son¡¯s graduation, the parade was led by a proud member of the Great Class of 1939 in his buggy, cheered on by the new graduates.

Hopefully, members of the Cardiff class of 2025 will come back to celebrate their 65th reunion in 2090! And to get that ball rolling, I¡¯ll be asking at this year¡¯s graduation ceremonies for enthusiastic volunteers to help organise their class communities.

Tradition, heritage, continuity, community and school pride are showcased at US reunions. These are old-fashioned concepts, maybe, but enduring ones in a complicated world. By cultivating them, universities too can tackle their graduates¡¯ hiraeth ¨C and perhaps even induce them to give something back in return.

Laura Trevelyan is a British-American journalist and chancellor of Cardiff University. She lives in New York City.

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