Carly Hasting didn't have too many expectations when she signed up to work the bi-annual phonathon at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). "I was thinking I'd call people and ask for money and that would be the end of it," she says. Instead, the senior nursing major came away with "so much more" – including a brand-new job as a technician at Huntsville Hospital. Hasting had been tasked with calling alumni of the College of Nursing during the fall 2013 phonathon. The requirements were "pretty simple," she says, but she was still nervous. Some of the alumni she'd be calling had since gone on to join the college's faculty and were now her own professors. "Just the idea of calling a professor at home knowing I'd have to face them in class the next day was intimidating!" she says with a laugh. She needn't have worried. In addition to being a fundraising initiative, explains Jennifer Brost, Director of Annual Giving & Research, the phonathon is also a chance to engage current students and alumni in meaningful dialogue. "Our students are not just calling to ask for money," she says. "They are also taking the opportunity to connect with alumni and share news and information from across the Charger Nation."