Alums sponsor new event in Boston to help students navigate careers

A new city has been added this year to a series of summer networking events for students and alumni hosted by the Arts & Sciences Career Connections Committee.

The events, which run from June 19 through June 27, take place in New York City, Washington, D.C. and now in Boston. Students can still sign up to attend the events by registering through Handshake.

The events and their topic areas are:

• June 19: General networking event, Boston, MA, 6-7:30 p.m., Nixon Peabody, Exchange Place, 53 State Street, Boston, MA 02109
• June 20: Media, 5:45-7:30 p.m., Weber Shandwick, 909 3rd Avenue, New York City
• June 25: Finance, 6- 8 p.m., Jefferies, 520 Madison Ave., New York, NY
• June 26: Healthcare, 6-7:30 p.m., Weill Cornell, 413 East 69th Street, New York City
• June 27: Law, 6:30- 8 p.m., Cadwalader, 200 Liberty St, New York,
• June 27: Government and policy, 6-8 p.m., Clifford Chance, 2001 K St NW, Washington, D.C.

Cliff Manko ‘80, is one of the organizers of the Boston event.

“I want to help liberal arts students bridge college life to the working world,” said Manko, who was a history major. “Students studying engineering or business have a lot of structure to explore employment opportunities. It is harder for liberal arts students.”

Ruth Silman ‘90, another organizer, said the event also holds benefits for the alumni who attend.

“What students and young alumni don’t realize is how invigorating it can be for those of us who graduated decades ago to hear about their studies, their lives at Cornell and their aspirations,” she said. “It makes me feel young again!”

Manko said Boston is an obvious place for the expansion of the program.

“Boston has a lot of colleges with strong alumni networks and it is a popular place for recent college graduates, given its many innovative companies and research institutions,” he said. “There are so many Cornellians in the Boston area — just go to a Cornell/Harvard hockey game.”

Manko said he hopes the Boston event allows students to meet alumni from various careers, professions and businesses.

“Being happy at work is important. I hope students who meet alums from the Arts College like me will be reassured that a liberal arts education from Cornell is a great foundation for both lifelong learning and building a career,” he said.

Silman said the event also allows students to gain a longer-term view of their careers.

“I hope that the students will realize that they have a long life ahead of them and to try to maintain perspective,” she said. “The journey is the point – it is what becomes our life – and it is not always a straight or defined path.”

The Arts & Sciences Career Connections Committee was established in 2010 to connect more students with alumni and increase student exposure to career options, strategies for entering fields of interest and the breadth of professional networks.