Cal is family and future to Velveth Schmitz (B.A. ‘98, Political Science), who met her husband, a third-generation Cal grad, at CAA’s Lair of the Golden Bear where they both were staffers. Schmitz also met her business partner on her very first deer-in-the-headlights day in the Unit 2 dorm. Their start-up, Stockr, a social media platform for investors, is slated to go live in the first quarter of 2012.

“Ever since I was very young, our family tradition was you give of your time or you give of your money, whichever the situation was. In the beginning, we didn’t have very much money. So I gave of my time,” says Schmitz, who in 2002 was elected Young Alumni chair.

“There are a lot of alumni my age that stay quasi-connected to the University,” Schmitz says. “I think the CAA board could create something to engage that demographic and give them support for later stages of life. We’re not quite young, but we’re not older alumni yet. I’m very interested in exploring that conversation.”