Saint Xavier University’s Explore STEM organization recently hosted an Alumni Night on October 20 in the Butler Reception Room.
The event included around twenty alumni working in STEM-related fields and offered attending students a chance to network with these professionals and ask questions.
SXU invited students, faculty, and staff to the panel to network with and ask questions to the university’s STEM alumni about their careers, obstacles, and many other things.
The evening began with students networking with the alumni whose expertise ranged from medical students to scientists. Students were pointed in the direction of specific alumni that matched their interests and career goals.
Following the networking portion of the event, students had the chance to ask the alumni questions in a panel-style interview.
One question that was asked was, “How can you stand out during the interviewing process when pursuing a job”?
The alumni gave various answers, such as remaining authentic to yourself, allowing your potential employer to get to know you, and doing your research on the company beforehand to make sure you would be a nice fit for them and vice versa.
Alumni also gave context as to how they felt Saint Xavier prepared them for either their current career or their present journey in graduate school.
Several claimed that due to SXU being smaller compared to other universities, they were able to build better relationships with their professors, which led to them either receiving great letters of recommendation or opportunities that served them in their career pursuits.
I asked sophomore, Jimena Figueroa, about her experience at the event and how it may have helped her better understand what the future may hold.
“In my opinion, I really enjoyed the event. It was really eye-opening and I felt like I was on the right path in college because of it. I had plenty of time to network and I would love to have more opportunities like this in the future so that I can get more of an idea of what I can do with my degree as a biology major.”
When asked how the event was able to gather that many alumni, Dr. Julia Wiester, who hosted the event, said “So many alumni came because they really valued the education and personalized experience they received at SXU. They wanted to give back and help our current students find something they are passionate about.”
Wiester went on to also state that she believed it “helped our students network and make connections. It also helped them to see the wide variety of jobs and career opportunities available. Students could also hear that even successful students and professionals had challenges and setbacks. We hope to have another event this Spring.”
The Explore STEM Alumni Night was very successful and students and faculty alike benefited greatly from their experience.
Saint Xavier will be holding another alumni event next week, on November 9, from 6:30p to 8:30p. The event will be hosted by the Pre-Law Association and SXU alumni to ask questions about what the law school process is like.