Father son duo chair reunion
The Tulane connection is strong for father-and-son John B. Strasburger Sr. (A&S ’86) and John “Jack” B. Strasburger Jr. (B ’19, *21). The two are chairing their respective Tulane reunions in fall 2021 – John is chairing his 35th reunion, and Jack is chairing the young alumni reunion.
They both formed close friendships during their years at Tulane and are enthusiastic about bringing Tulanians back together to connect.
“Tulane is just an incredible place,” said John, adding that as a student “I was not only truly interested in my classes, but also fascinated by the history, the art, the architecture, the food, and the music of New Orleans. For a kid who had gone to a big public high school in Texas, Tulane introduced me to people from all over the country and all over the world.” After Tulane, John attended law school at the University of Texas at Austin and practices commercial litigation at a law firm in Houston.
His advice to his Tulane-bound son was to “pick and choose your friends well, because if you do it right, you’re going to be friends with those people forever. One of my group texts on my phone, it’s six Tulane guys from my days in college. Especially during the pandemic when we all had more time on our hands, we literally texted multiple times a day. These are guys who I met in 1982, 1983, and they live in different time zones in different states. But we continue to be super close friends, and in fact, a couple of the children of those guys were in Jack’s undergrad class at Tulane and one is in his master’s program.”
Jack, who is currently pursuing his Tulane Master of Business degree in Analytics, certainly took his father’s advice to create long-lasting bonds with his fellow Tulanians. “The people who I met in the very first days at Tulane are still my best friends,” he said.
They are excited to pair as reunion chairs and help strengthen connections among Tulanians. The hope is that the upcoming reunion will be in person in fall 2021. “A lot of my classmates have done some amazing things over the years,” said John. “It’s great for me to connect with people whom I haven’t seen or talked to in years and find out what they’ve been up to.”
John co-chaired his 30th reunion. “As a matter of personal pride, I want to take another run at some of the people who I know love Tulane but did not come in for the 30th,” he said, adding with a smile, “I figure I’ve given them five years to think about their mistake, and I’m going to take a harder run at it this time.”
Jack believes in the importance of alumni giving back to the school they all love so much. “Their sponsorship is really important to the current students. Whether alumni give their time or resources, it really does preserve the Tulane culture and opportunity for future Tulanians.”
When Tulanians are able to gather again in person, Jack said, they will have much to celebrate. “When it does come to the point where we all together again and able to celebrate Tulane and this community, I think people will do that with a lot of appreciation and I’m going to be grateful for that.”
