The networking event, open to all students and all interested alumni, gave students the chance to ask detailed questions of alumni with varied career experiences.

Event helps students hear real-world stories of professional success, advice

Sometimes, the best advice for college students anxious about the job market comes from those who have been in their shoes — and learned valuable lessons as they began their own careers.

Those lessons and other nuggets of wisdom were shared during this spring’s Women in Leadership: Careers and Connections event, which brought together alumni and students in conversation. The event, hosted jointly by the Beauregard Center and UNH Alumni Relations, allowed alums to share their expertise and experiences with the next generation, while enabling students to work on networking skills and ask questions about job hunting and career development.

Nearly 40 alumni took part in the event, which followed a “speed dating” format, where students shifted from one alumni table to the next at set intervals, allowing them to practice their networking skills multiple times throughout the day.

Kayla Montgomery ’07, vice president of public affairs at Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, was one of those alums. She noted that the energy in the room among students eager to talk and learn was great to see.

“This is a great opportunity for students; when I started here as a student, I had no idea what I wanted to do — I started off a little lost, to be honest,” she said. But she figured it out fast, and graduated with a dual major in political science and international affairs.

Her advice to students she met at the event? “Say yes to things, be open to every offer, because you never know what doors are going to open from one to the next.”

The event was open to all students in both undergraduate and graduate programs, and was sponsored in part by gifts from private donors seeking to support student success initiatives at UNH.

And for students like Madison Harper ’28, the day represented an important step in that success. The freshman was undeclared, but considering a major in finance.

“Going to events like this is such a great way to advance my network and also just work on my social skills and learn how to communicate with adults in the professional world,” she said.

She describes herself as very driven, and finds it’s easy to be hard on herself when she feels like she’s failing.

“It’s so empowering to hear that your path doesn’t have to be linear. It’s so great to hear everyone’s stories about how they might not have planned to end up where they are, but they’re so grateful they did.”