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February 19 , 2003
Alumni Give Back to College Through Mentorship

In an effort to help the current Christendom students with their career choices, the Career Development Office, in conjunction with the Alumni Affairs Office, held its first-ever Alumni Career Network Mentoring Reception on February 8.

The purpose of the evening was to introduce to the Juniors and Seniors the varied career paths which Christendom alumni have taken. Over 30 alumni representatives, from such diverse fields as law, education, computer technology, administration, business management, finance, health care, building trades, insurance, sales, communications, government, and law enforcement were present. The setting for the evening was informal, with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres (prepared by College Chef Ron Steckman), and short introductions by the visiting alumni. Throughout the remainder of the evening, the students and alumni mingled together to get to know each other a little better.

Student reaction to the evening was most positive. “I find it to be a great comfort to know that Christendom grads can do pretty much whatever they want when they graduate with their liberal arts degree from Christendom,” commented Senior Mike McSheffrey. “I’ve always known that the alumni are involved in a wide variety of careers, but it was nice to actually see them and talk with them about how they got into their specific fields.”

Tom VanderWoude, the Career Development Officer, hopes to continue this event in the future. “For the first year, to have over 30 area alumni give up their Saturday nights and offer to help our students with their career choices is a pretty good start,” said VanderWoude. “The efforts and sacrifice on their part are most appreciated and we look forward to an even better attended event next year.”
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