AMPlify, St. Michael’s alumni mentorship program, joined Career Week to provide mentorship opportunities as part of a week designed to help students as they transition from academia into the workforce.
Career Week took place on campus and virtually from January 27 – 31. The lineup included workshops on networking, connecting your university experience to your future career and the imposter phenomenon. As part of Career Week, St. Mike’s alumni who are industry professionals were able to offer students guidance through a virtual resume clinic and a speed networking.
The speed networking event took place on January 29 in Charbonnel Lounge. The evening began with refreshments and a chance for students and mentees to break the ice by lamenting over commutes and coursework. For the formal networking portion, students sat at a long table facing the mentors and after a set time students would move down the table. This format allowed students to talk with multiple alumni in quick, timed sessions.
“I’ve attended a lot of networking events through Rotman, but never speed networking. I’m guessing it will be like speed dating, but networking, and that sounds fun,” says Vidhi Jhawar, a fourth-year student studying finance.
“I want to get an alumni perspective and see where they’re at in their life currently. I’m trying to see if I can talk with anyone on a similar path to what I’m looking for,” says Doyin Adeoye, a fourth-year student currently on a coop placement.
“I’ve done a lot of front-line volunteering, and I wanted to do something new along the lines of mentorship. I felt I was at a stage in my life where I could start mentoring other people and then St. Mike’s emailed me about this program and I thought it was the perfect match,” says Marcus Garrison, who works in technology sales. “We didn’t have events like this when I was at school in the 80’s. We had career centres, and that was about it. All professors could say was, ‘Go to grad school.’ I think it’s good to tell a student proactively what they can expect so they can prepare and have a realistic view,” he says.
“Our firm is very big on mentors because we want people to rise up through the ranks. It’s very disorienting for university students to make the switch of coming into a big firm,” says Robert Bodnar, who worked at Morgan Stanley in New York for 35 years. “I wouldn’t be where I am now without my education at St. Mike’s and so now, I try to come out and help where I can.”
“I’m curious about how to switch from an internship to a real paid job to ultimately finding your career path,” says Megan Panicker, a fourth-year student studying health and disease and looking to go into the public sector after graduation.
In turn, Matthew Ziembicki who has built a career working in government after studying public health, thinks the best advice he can offer is to find a paid co-op.