Help a Student. Share Your Experience. Strengthen Your Alma Mater.
Every successful professional remembers what it was like to be a student. Wondering how to land that first internship, build a professional network, or navigate the transition from college to career.
Alumni Connect gives you the opportunity to make that journey a little easier for today’s students.
Through the Alumni Foundation, we connect students with alumni from their own university who are willing to share their experiences, offer guidance, and help students begin building the professional relationships that will support them throughout their careers.
You don’t have to become a mentor or make a long-term commitment. Sometimes, a single conversation can make all the difference.
Why Alumni Connect?
Students often graduate with strong academic knowledge but limited professional networks. Alumni, on the other hand, possess years of real-world experience and insights that simply can’t be taught in a classroom.
Alumni Connect bridges that gap by creating meaningful introductions between students and alumni who once walked the same campus, studied many of the same subjects, and successfully built careers in a wide variety of industries.
Our goal is simple: Help students build relationships before they begin building careers.
How the Program Works
1. We Reach Out to Alumni
We invite alumni to participate in the Alumni Connect program by volunteering to connect with students from their alma mater.
2. You Choose Your Level of Participation
There is no long-term commitment or required schedule.
You decide how involved you’d like to be.
You can participate once—or continue helping students throughout the year.
3. We Start with Building Their LinkedIn Network
One of the most valuable things you can do for a student is help them begin developing a professional network.
As part of Alumni Connect, students are encouraged to connect with alumni on LinkedIn, learn how to build meaningful professional relationships, and gain confidence reaching out to professionals in their areas of interest.
Many students graduate with only a handful of professional connections. By accepting a LinkedIn invitation and spending a few minutes sharing your career story, you become part of a network that can continue supporting that student long after graduation.
Ways You Can Participate
You can participate in whatever way best fits your schedule and interests.
Examples include:
- One-on-one student conversations
- LinkedIn networking connections
- Career advice sessions
- Resume and interview guidance
- Industry Q&A discussions
- Virtual networking events
- Alumni panel discussions
- Career webinars
- Office hours for students
- Mentoring opportunities
Participate once—or as often as you’d like.
What Students Gain
Students who participate in Alumni Connect have the opportunity to:
- Expand their professional network
- Learn from professionals who share their university experience
- Explore career paths and industries
- Build confidence in networking
- Improve LinkedIn profiles
- Better understand workplace expectations
- Receive practical career advice
- Connect with professionals who want to see them succeed
What’s Expected of Alumni?
Not much.
We simply ask that you:
- Be willing to share your experiences honestly.
- Encourage students as they begin their careers.
- Treat every student with professionalism and respect.
- Offer advice based on your own career journey.
- Accept that every conversation can make a meaningful impact.
There is no expectation that you:
- Offer a job
- Refer a student
- Become a long-term mentor
- Commit to recurring meetings
- Donate financially
Your experience and your willingness to help are more than enough.
Why Alumni Participate
Many alumni tell us they remember someone who helped them early in their careers—a professor, a former manager, another alumnus, or a family friend.
Alumni Connect provides an opportunity to pay that support forward.
By volunteering just a small amount of time, you can help another student gain confidence, broaden their perspective, and take the next step toward achieving their career goals.
Join Alumni Connect
Whether you graduated five years ago or fifty, your experiences have value.
Your advice can reduce uncertainty.
Your encouragement can build confidence.
Your story can inspire action.
And one conversation can open a door that changes a student’s future.
Become an Alumni Connect Volunteer
Join a growing community of alumni who are helping students transition from college to career—one conversation at a time.
[Join Alumni Connect Today]