When Timothy J. Foley started interviewing Georgetown alumni for the university's advancement office, he was surprised at how open they were. It was not unusual for them to cry or vent as they talked to Mr. Foley, a 2006 graduate who works for the university. The interviews were the centerpiece of a program started by James M. Langley, the university's vice president for advancement, to reach out to alumni who had become disconnected from the university. The Discovery Initiative employs students and recent graduates as ambassadors who meet with alumni and ask them about their Georgetown experience, their current interests, and the type of relationship they would like to have with their alma mater. The three-year program has a goal of 10,000 interviews; 3,500 have been completed since it started in the spring of 2006. Mr. Foley started as a student ambassador the spring of his senior year, then was hired to be an ambassador full time after graduation. After doing that for a year, he became the manager for the program, helping coordinate the 60 to 70 students and three full-time ambassadors.