The Office of Alumni Engagement and the Center for Career and Professional Development will be hosting a series of events to help the class of 2025 prepare for life after graduating. The events are an open invitation to seniors looking for support to help them through the process leading up to commencement.
Source: Tracey Deer-Mirek, Sacred Heart University
“I have a lot of anxieties and uncertainties about the future, as I will not only be starting a new chapter but leaving behind the friends I had. I will have to create a new daily routine for myself and adjust to being in a new environment,” said senior Stephanie Woodward.
Annie Suffredini, Director of the Center For Career and Professional Development, wants to mitigate the stress faced by seniors as much as possible.
“Yes, there are some students that know they’re going to graduate school. They might have a job lined up for after graduation; a lot of students don’t have that yet, and this is really an opportunity for us to showcase to the students that it is okay,” said Suffredini.
The first event, “Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow,” which will take place on Feb. 19, aims to address this stress head-on by familiarizing seniors with the process of becoming alumni. This will show students all the resources available to them from the university.
“We are going to have representation from Alumni Engagement, [the] Center for Career Professional Development, Graduate Admissions and the Counseling Center, all four areas which are important to your next steps,” said Robert Gilmore, Executive Director of Alumni Engagement & Events.
The second event, “In Their Words: Alumni Panel & Q&A,” will be held on March 26 in the Martire Center Theatre. It will give students the direct opportunity to talk to alumni and learn from their experiences.
Senior Kate Fleissner, who majors in Elementary Education, is excited about the Q&A event. “I am interested to hear how they used their time in the classroom thus far as a stepping stone to success in a future career context,” said Fleissner.
“We are going to have our alumni talk for a little bit about their career paths and with how Sacred Heart motivated them and got them to where they are today,” said Gilmore.
However, Gilmore noted that this event relies heavily on student engagement with the alumni.
“The majority of success from that event is going to be the current seniors asking questions, knowing what they want to know. And you know, we want students to come engaged and ready to ask those questions as much as they can,” Gilmore said.
The third and final event is a brand-new addition to the series. “The One Month to Alumni Celebration,” scheduled for April 10, hopes to shift these feelings of uncertainty into feelings of celebration.
Even after students graduate from Sacred Heart, they still have access to the many campus resources to guide them toward success, no matter where their journey takes them. One way students can stay involved is through Pioneer Connect, an online networking platform offered through the university.
“We urge all students to do Pioneers Connect, which is a way that they can stay in touch with the university, both as an undergrad, a graduate and as an alum,” said Gilmore.
“We are here to work with them, really, to help guide whatever their journey ends up being,” Suffredini said.
