University of New Hampshire Athletics
Alumni/Athlete Networking: A Rousing Success
3/29/2017 3:36:00 PM | Athletics Development
DURHAM, N.H. - The packed room buzzed with the sounds of excited – and perhaps somewhat nervous - voices.
Dozens of young adults, all dressed for success, sat at the long stylish tables and shared their stories with the other invited guests.
It could have been an after-work hours weeknight gathering in Portsmouth or Portland, Boston or Houston, New York or New Orleans - with young professionals getting together for a little social time with some oh-so-valuable networking mixed in.
But this was a little different.
These young professionals, as opposed to spending their days in city offices, were young adults more apt to be seen, these days at least, in hockey and basketball jerseys or gymnastics apparel than in suits and dresses.
The occasion was UNH's Athletics Career Development/Speed Networking night in the Watkins Center for Student-Athlete Excellence, an event held on a January evening that drew raves from the 50 athletes and more than 30 alumni and friends who attended, almost all of them former athletes.
Some of the alums graduated more than four decades ago, others had been out of UNH only a couple of years.
The idea was to connect current UNH athletes – most of those in this inaugural outing were juniors and seniors with graduation not that far off – with a wide assortment of alumni and provide a chance for them to talk, network, exchange contact information and pick up important advice and tips as they head out into the work force.
In short, to get a taste of what's to come in the not-too-distant future.
"The idea was this was going to be a pilot and if it went well, we'd do it again," said Brandon Thomas, Assistant Athletic Director and academic support services coordinator, who helped organize and run the event.
Count the night a rousing success.
The next Career Development/Speed Networking event is set for Thursday night in the Service Credit Union Victory Club in Wildcat Stadium.
Another round of alumni – student feedback from the first night asked for more representation from the health care, education, engineering and information technology fields and this night will include several alumni in those area – will meet with another round of student-athletes.
Bob Conrad, '73, who played football for the Wildcats, was one of many who enjoyed the first get together.
"I loved it," said Conrad, the president of The Conrad Group, which specializes in commercial real estate. "It makes so much sense to do. I think the students got a lot out of it and we did, too. I'd love to do it again."
Before the speed networking portion of the event – designed to allow the student-athletes to maximize their connections – director of athletics Marty Scarano and former basketball standout Tommy MacDonald, '94, addressed the whole group.
MacDonald, a special agent with the FBI, encouraged the student-athletes to feel confident in what they bring to the working world.
The message was reinforced by other alums.
"A lot of the people I met said to use the fact we're athletes to our advantage," said senior hockey captain Jonna Curtis. "They said a lot of employers want kids who they know are competitive and hard-working and want to be the best at what they're doing."
A bioengineering major, Curtis plans to go to graduate school and wants to get involved in the field of research and development of medical devices.
Senior gymnast Jessica Gracia is a Biomedical Science: Medical Microbiology major and plans to be a pediatrician.
"Hopefully I can get there," she said. "I've always wanted to work with kids. . . . I've never done anything like this tonight and I didn't really have any expectations coming into it. I thought it was very helpful."
The first-night alums included UNH Hall of Famers such as Ralph Cox '79, the all-time leading scorer in Wildcat hockey history, former football and track & field standout Arnold Garron '84 and Sandy Bridgeman '87 who played field hockey and was on the NCAA champion lacrosse team in 1985 and later took the Wildcat lacrosse team to the NCAA tournament as their coach.
Cox is now a principal at Redgate, a commercial real estate firm; Garron served a recent stint as interim dean of the Peter T. Paul College of Business & Economics and is the managing director of Corporate Partnerships with American Student Assistance, a firm that helps people who are struggling with their college student loans; and Bridgeman is the head lacrosse coach at Plymouth State University.
The evening was a collective effort of the of the departments of Academic Support and Athletics Development. The "speed" element meant each session lasted four minutes, encouraging student-athletes to get their points across quickly and allowing each of them to meet a maximum number of alums.
"It was formal, but not too formal," said Joanne Maldari, Associate Athletic Director for Academic Support. "They could talk about their sport a bit and ask the alumni anything in a relatively relaxed atmosphere."
A Survey Monkey poll came back overwhelmingly positive about the event.
"The student-athletes said they loved it and wanted to do it again," Maldari said.
The student-athletes listed some of the tips they had picked up: "Networking is crucial . . . It's okay to not know what you really want to do after college – still reach out and don't be afraid to get no's for an answer. . . . Be persistent when applying . . . Take advantage of every opportunity presented. . . . Take advantage of your resources at UNH. . . . Don't say no to opportunities. . . . Use the skills you learn through athletics and apply to everything. . . . Network. Network. Network!!! . . . Be confident."
It was a win-win all around.
Members of the athletics department administration that helped make the night a success gave it a hearty thumbs-up.
"We find that many of our alumni and supporters are looking for ways to help make an impact," said Diane Metcalf, Director of Athletics Development. "These events provide the ideal opportunity for them to support our student-athletes as they embark on their career preparation and networking process; they are able to hear first-hand from professionals with specific insight, advice and guidance, ideally in a career path that the student-athlete plans to pursue. Our Wildcat alumni and friends enjoy giving back and we appreciate learning from their UNH stories and experience."
Michelle Bronner, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Compliance/Senior Women's Administrator, agreed.
"It is important that we prepare our student-athletes for life after athletics," Bronner said. "This Networking event teaches them valuable skills to take into the working world and who better to teach them this than those who did it before them. It is tremendous to see the willingness of our alumni to help us in our efforts to grow our career development opportunities and watching the generations interact and learn from each other has a powerful effect."
All American skier and orthopedic surgeon Greg Blaisdell '03, occupational therapist Brandi Kerns '07 (women's ice hockey) and materials scientist Ali Yost '10 (women's soccer) will be among the athletic alumni in attendance for the next gathering.
The professional mentor/student-athlete networking sessions have just begun. The goal is to have one each semester, Maldari said.
Dozens of young adults, all dressed for success, sat at the long stylish tables and shared their stories with the other invited guests.
It could have been an after-work hours weeknight gathering in Portsmouth or Portland, Boston or Houston, New York or New Orleans - with young professionals getting together for a little social time with some oh-so-valuable networking mixed in.
But this was a little different.
These young professionals, as opposed to spending their days in city offices, were young adults more apt to be seen, these days at least, in hockey and basketball jerseys or gymnastics apparel than in suits and dresses.
The occasion was UNH's Athletics Career Development/Speed Networking night in the Watkins Center for Student-Athlete Excellence, an event held on a January evening that drew raves from the 50 athletes and more than 30 alumni and friends who attended, almost all of them former athletes.
Some of the alums graduated more than four decades ago, others had been out of UNH only a couple of years.
The idea was to connect current UNH athletes – most of those in this inaugural outing were juniors and seniors with graduation not that far off – with a wide assortment of alumni and provide a chance for them to talk, network, exchange contact information and pick up important advice and tips as they head out into the work force.
In short, to get a taste of what's to come in the not-too-distant future.
"The idea was this was going to be a pilot and if it went well, we'd do it again," said Brandon Thomas, Assistant Athletic Director and academic support services coordinator, who helped organize and run the event.
Count the night a rousing success.
The next Career Development/Speed Networking event is set for Thursday night in the Service Credit Union Victory Club in Wildcat Stadium.
Another round of alumni – student feedback from the first night asked for more representation from the health care, education, engineering and information technology fields and this night will include several alumni in those area – will meet with another round of student-athletes.
Bob Conrad, '73, who played football for the Wildcats, was one of many who enjoyed the first get together.
"I loved it," said Conrad, the president of The Conrad Group, which specializes in commercial real estate. "It makes so much sense to do. I think the students got a lot out of it and we did, too. I'd love to do it again."
Before the speed networking portion of the event – designed to allow the student-athletes to maximize their connections – director of athletics Marty Scarano and former basketball standout Tommy MacDonald, '94, addressed the whole group.
MacDonald, a special agent with the FBI, encouraged the student-athletes to feel confident in what they bring to the working world.
The message was reinforced by other alums.
"A lot of the people I met said to use the fact we're athletes to our advantage," said senior hockey captain Jonna Curtis. "They said a lot of employers want kids who they know are competitive and hard-working and want to be the best at what they're doing."
A bioengineering major, Curtis plans to go to graduate school and wants to get involved in the field of research and development of medical devices.
Senior gymnast Jessica Gracia is a Biomedical Science: Medical Microbiology major and plans to be a pediatrician.
"Hopefully I can get there," she said. "I've always wanted to work with kids. . . . I've never done anything like this tonight and I didn't really have any expectations coming into it. I thought it was very helpful."
The first-night alums included UNH Hall of Famers such as Ralph Cox '79, the all-time leading scorer in Wildcat hockey history, former football and track & field standout Arnold Garron '84 and Sandy Bridgeman '87 who played field hockey and was on the NCAA champion lacrosse team in 1985 and later took the Wildcat lacrosse team to the NCAA tournament as their coach.
Cox is now a principal at Redgate, a commercial real estate firm; Garron served a recent stint as interim dean of the Peter T. Paul College of Business & Economics and is the managing director of Corporate Partnerships with American Student Assistance, a firm that helps people who are struggling with their college student loans; and Bridgeman is the head lacrosse coach at Plymouth State University.
The evening was a collective effort of the of the departments of Academic Support and Athletics Development. The "speed" element meant each session lasted four minutes, encouraging student-athletes to get their points across quickly and allowing each of them to meet a maximum number of alums.
"It was formal, but not too formal," said Joanne Maldari, Associate Athletic Director for Academic Support. "They could talk about their sport a bit and ask the alumni anything in a relatively relaxed atmosphere."
A Survey Monkey poll came back overwhelmingly positive about the event.
"The student-athletes said they loved it and wanted to do it again," Maldari said.
The student-athletes listed some of the tips they had picked up: "Networking is crucial . . . It's okay to not know what you really want to do after college – still reach out and don't be afraid to get no's for an answer. . . . Be persistent when applying . . . Take advantage of every opportunity presented. . . . Take advantage of your resources at UNH. . . . Don't say no to opportunities. . . . Use the skills you learn through athletics and apply to everything. . . . Network. Network. Network!!! . . . Be confident."
It was a win-win all around.
Members of the athletics department administration that helped make the night a success gave it a hearty thumbs-up.
"We find that many of our alumni and supporters are looking for ways to help make an impact," said Diane Metcalf, Director of Athletics Development. "These events provide the ideal opportunity for them to support our student-athletes as they embark on their career preparation and networking process; they are able to hear first-hand from professionals with specific insight, advice and guidance, ideally in a career path that the student-athlete plans to pursue. Our Wildcat alumni and friends enjoy giving back and we appreciate learning from their UNH stories and experience."
Michelle Bronner, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Compliance/Senior Women's Administrator, agreed.
"It is important that we prepare our student-athletes for life after athletics," Bronner said. "This Networking event teaches them valuable skills to take into the working world and who better to teach them this than those who did it before them. It is tremendous to see the willingness of our alumni to help us in our efforts to grow our career development opportunities and watching the generations interact and learn from each other has a powerful effect."
All American skier and orthopedic surgeon Greg Blaisdell '03, occupational therapist Brandi Kerns '07 (women's ice hockey) and materials scientist Ali Yost '10 (women's soccer) will be among the athletic alumni in attendance for the next gathering.
The professional mentor/student-athlete networking sessions have just begun. The goal is to have one each semester, Maldari said.
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