Kalie Lowrie’s love for Howard Payne University is evident when the 2006 graduate speaks of her alma mater, and that heartfelt emotion has resulted in her second stint as an employee working with other alumni.
Lowrie, 38, returned in March of 2021 to serve as Assistant Vice President of Alumni Relations.
“Basically I get to engage with our alumni and help provide opportunities for them to network, connect, and be a part of what’s happening in the life of Howard Payne,” she said. “I work with alumni of all ages and I also get to work with students a lot, too, even at a young age to teach them what it looks like to be an alum and to be engaged, to let them know our alumni care about them and want them to succeed in their future. I plan events, I host a lot of different programs and a lot of different opportunities for people to come and be a part of what’s happening here at the university.”
Lowrie explained why she receives so much joy and satisfaction from the work she performs for HPU.
“For me the most rewarding part is to provide avenues for our alumni to get reconnected to campus,” she said. “I love when I hear about alumni who are coming back who have been disconnected for a long time or haven’t been able to be a part of what’s happening and suddenly now they are. This summer we’re hosting a Veda (Hodge Hall) slumber party, which is in our female dorm and we’ve had a great response with over 150 ladies that have signed up. I’ve been receiving calls all summer from ladies who haven’t been to the campus in 20 or 30 or 40 years. They’re reconnecting with roommates and reliving the stories of their days in college. It’s so rewarding to be able to create opportunities and programs to provide that connection point for people because Howard Payne is such a special place and has such a significant impact on people’s lives when they’re here. I love that I’m able to help them reconnect and reengage in what’s happening at the university.”
Lowrie also shared her journey with Howard Payne from freshman student in 2002 to employee 20 years later.
“I attended Howard Payne as an undergrad from 2002-06,” she said. “I graduated from the academy with a political science degree and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do and Dr. Lanny Hall was president then and he offered me a job to work at the university in alumni relations and media relations, so I took that job for a year and ended up staying for five years. It was really an awesome opportunity to learn and grow. So I did work in the alumni office years ago in a different capacity. I also learned a lot about communications and I helped create social media accounts for Howard Payne back in the day when Facebook and Twitter were just starting. I also did press releases and took pictures and learned a lot of communication skills.
“After five years I left as the director media relations and went to Dallas Baptist University to pursue my master’s in communications. I worked there for a couple of years and then I went and worked for the Texas Baptist Convention and I served there for eight years in communications and oversaw publications and social media. I earned my doctorate from Dallas Baptist University at that time. Right about the time I graduated with my doctorate in 2020, I was just looking for opportunities where the Lord would have me to serve. I was able to connect with (HPU President) Dr. (Cory) Hines and we talked about what it would look like for me to come back and oversee the alumni relations efforts here at the university and it was a great fit for me to be able to use the education and experience I have to come back and serve at a place that I love and helped make me who I am.”
Lowrie’s relationship that she developed with Hines at Dallas Baptist led to her return to Brownwood.
“I knew Dr. Hines when we were at Dallas Baptist together and I knew he would be a great person to work for and I knew that God was really at work on campus and I wanted to come and be a part of that,” she said. “Specifically I wanted to come in and pour into our students that are here now and help develop them into the leaders they want to be. I get to teach a class every semester in our communications department and that’s one of my favorite things because I had so many professors and staff members that poured into me. It’s just a really special place and God’s at work here and I just wanted to be a part of what He’s doing.”
Not only does Lowrie possess a great passion for Howard Payne, but the Brownwood community as well.
“I’ve really enjoyed being back in Brownwood as an adult and investing in our local community, getting to know people and how special Brownwood is on this side of things,” she said. “I serve on the board for Hope Home Ministries. I’ve been on the board for two years and I’m the vice president right now. That’s a really meaningful ministry that was started by an alum, Chassidy Machmeier. It’s been neat to support some of the women in our community in a really special way. I’m a member of First Baptist Brownwood and I serve as the chair of the personnel committee there. I was also able to be part of Leadership Brownwood when I came back. I was in the group from 2021-22 so I got to learn a lot about community members and the chamber through that.”