Management Students, Career Services, Advancement Hold Event
05/20/2011
By
Christine GilletteWhen opportunities to network with fellow professionals arise, there is rarely a chance to practice what you are going to say about your qualifications and experience. For a college student, such situations can be even more daunting.
That’s why the College of Management Dean’s Student Advisory Board set out to create a situation where students could test their skills, not only with each other, but with real businesspeople, including UMass Lowell alums.
“The advisory board believes it is important to offer students opportunities to gain networking experience before entering professional life after graduation, where networking is essential to success in the business world,” says Carly Arico, a senior business management major from Waltham who serves as the board’s president.
Working with UMass Lowell’s Career Services and Cooperative Education Center and University Advancement, the student advisory board presented its first College of Management Networking Event recently in Alumni Hall. The large room was arranged like a typical professional networking event would be, with several small circular tables to create conversation spaces as well as open areas and a refreshment table where people might naturally gather.
Hitting the Ground Running
The event included remarks from Management Dean Kathryn Carter, who thanked the participants for helping the students learn how to network effectively. “Our goal is to do events like these so our UMass Lowell graduates are ready to go out there and hit the ground running.”
Martina Witts, Career Services’ assistant director, cooperative education for College of Management, and Lily Mendez-Morgan, executive director of Alumni Relations, worked with the students to present the event.
“Good networking skills are essential to a student’s professional development and this event offered a great opportunity for College of Management students to practice this skill and learn from experienced alumni and friends of the University,” says Witts.
Alumni Offer Guidance
Business professionals who participated in the event include Alan Besnoff of Waddell & Reed; Nancy Christie and Heather Healy of New Balance; Eric Correnti ’98 of Progress Software Corp.; Nathan Eng ’03 of Nexum Inc.; Jim Harrison ’83 of Exfo Link; Mafrufa Haque of Kelly IT Resources; John Kalil ’92 of EMC; Steven Larochelle ’85 of Enterprise Bank; Brian Lemke ’09 of Commodity Component International; Paul Litchfield ’09, ’11 of Feeley & Driscoll P.C.; Dana Moss of Marshalls; Bryan Shanley ’00 of PRIDEStar EMS; and Ken Slattery of Kelly Services.
“The College of Management networking event was a wonderful opportunity for alumni to spend time with current UMass Lowell students,” says Mendez-Morgan. “I received e-mails the next day saying how much they enjoyed meeting the students and sharing what they have learned in their careers since graduation.”
“Through the exchange of business cards and casual conversation, students not only received valuable insight and information from the alumni, but they were also able to connect with potential employers and job opportunities,” says Arico.