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May 2008
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ALUMNI NEWS |
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Alumni and Students Press the Flesh at Spring Networking Receptions
Three different networking events connected American University undergraduates, faculty, staff, and potential employers during the heart of the job-internship hunting season. The Kogod School of Business Six Degrees of Separation Networking Event held on February 27, the School of Communication Alumni-Student Networking Reception held on March 6, and the College of Arts and Sciences Education Focused Alumni-Student Networking reception held on April 2 all provided students and alumni alike the opportunity to begin anew. The Six Degrees of Separation Networking Event, hosted by the Kogod School of Business, in its second year, focused on how technology has changed networking. Eight different sessions throughout the night showed how social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook, as well as the search engine Google, have changed the way people get - and stay - in contact. Nicole Melander, executive-in-residence for Kogod’s Information Technology department, was very happy with the evening, noting that the subjects of the presentations had instant value for day-to-day workers. “We want to keep our alums connected to the school and provide for them,” she said. Michelle Tanney, KSB/MBA '05, cochair of the Kogod Alumni Board and the retail marketing operations manager for sports apparel giant Under Armour, recognized how quickly the technology has and will continue to change in this part of business. “I think it’s one of those things you always have to stay on top off,” she said, adding that it was especially important in the current mobile society. “All of us at the school, and our alumni, felt this year’s event was very successful. We will continue to aspire to bring relevant topics to our alumni in the future,” said Priscilla Rawlins, associate director of Development at Kogod. For the SOC reception, Pat Oltmann, Career Services liaison for Alumni Programs, was very impressed with the turnout from all different parts of the SOC community. “I think they take a personal interest in their alums,” said Oltmann, who appreciated all the help at the event, including the presence and efforts of alumni speakers Jim Brady, SOC/BA ’89, Jackie Judd, SOC/BA ’73, and Michael Cascio, SOC/MA ’83. “It really is a collaborative effort,” she said, speaking to what makes events like these successful.
“That culture of nurturing our alums actually comes from Larry Kirkman, our dean,” said Chris Palmer, distinguished film producer-in-residence and the director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking at SOC. Palmer made a huge contribution to the evening by putting on his patented pre-networking reception tutorial. “What I teach them is the importance of acting confident,” he said. “It makes a huge difference, there and then.” For the CAS Education Networking Reception, Karen Digiovanni, director of Teacher Education and Certification officer for the School of Education, Teaching, and Health, spoke of how important events like these were for aspiring teachers. "The teaching job is not one that you can go and get in November,” she said, noting the specific certification requirements for teachers. “I thought it was a huge success,” she said, noting the number of recruiters present, including D.C. Public School and D.C. Charter Schools. Also, DiGiovanni enjoyed the help and support of other parts of the university. “I’m really happy that the Career Center is supporting the Department of Education in this,” she said. Oltmann was especially pleased with the diversity of the recruiters who made the event so successful. "Students were able to meet recruiters from public and private school districts as well as independent and charter schools," she said. "This was a great opportunity for our alumni, students, employers, faculty, and staff, to network for career opportunities. Students have been very successful in making contacts and getting jobs and internships in their field of interest from their networking efforts at these collaborative events."
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