WASHINGTON -- They wear matching grey t-shirts and squeeze into a small minivan. A group of Wittenberg University graduates is making a nationwide journey to connect with other alums and promote the school's alumni relations program.

Late Tuesday afternoon, the group planned a happy hour and banquet at a Washington, D.C. tavern, after meeting with Springfield Congressman David Hobson. They'd already made the trek to Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City to visit with other alums there. The University and other donors pick up the tab for the van, gas, food, and accommodations.

Brian Desantis, a 2007 Wittenberg graduate, said the University takes great pride in having alumni throughout the nation. Desantis told WHIOTV.COM, "Wittenberg has a thing about finding your passion. What do you want to do with your life? And a lot of people follow that passion, to wherever that might be."

The trip comes among rising concerns about a "brain drain" in the Miami Valley. Dayton ranks 6th worst in the nation in population decline, having lost 1,000 residents in the past year. Several local colleges --- Wittenberg University, the University of Dayton, and Cedarville included --- have established a new website to help local employers track down recent college grads to prevent those grads from leaving town. Here's the link: Miami Valley Job Post

To hear more about the trip and the efforts to retain local graduates, click on the links to the right.