More than 80 alumni and more than 300 students took part in the Alumni-Student Career Night. From left are Jeannine Brisson Dugas ’87, a senior account representative with Cox Media Inc., Ron Pioccone ’09, Michael Vitanza ’09, and Amy McDevitt ’09.

Just 15 years ago, David Sherry ’93 was in the exact same position as the young student who stood wide-eyed before him.

The one-time management major, who is now vice president of enterprise identity and access for Citizens Bank, was one of more than 80 alumni who shared career advice with students in Slavin Center ’64 Hall on March 10.

Representing career fields that ranged from marketing and communications to technology, financial services, and non-profits, the alumni gave advice to more than 300 PC students who attended Alumni-Student Career Night 2008.

The event was sponsored by the Office of Career Services and the Mal Brown Club, the Greater Providence Chapter of the College’s National Alumni Association. The night’s keynote speaker was Robert S. Penney ’89, vice president, US Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management. He also is a member of PC’s Providence President’s Council and president of the Mal Brown Club.

"I love coming back and talking to the students," Sherry said. "Whenever the College asks me to come, I'm here."

Kathleen A. Clarkin, director of the Career Planning and Internship Service in the Office of Career Services, said the purpose of the annual career nights is to provide students with opportunities to explore professions of interest and gain insight into new possibilities and emerging fields.
Other benefits, she said, include understanding the skills and competencies that are needed to succeed in a particular field, as well as obtaining strategies and possible contacts for internships, future employment, or advanced education. 

“Events like this provide valuable opportunities for PC undergraduates to benefit from the expertise of Providence College alumni who are successful in a wide variety of professions,” said Clarkin.

The Providence Alumni-Student Career Night followed similar networking events in Boston and New York that were co-sponsored by career services, the Office of Institutional Advancement, and alumni chapters. The three events drew more than 200 alumni and 500 students.

Additional career opportunities
Beside the career nights, PC students had the opportunity to attend numerous other career events this semester, as follows:

• On March 14, the College took part in the annual BIG EAST Conference Job Fair held at Madison Square Garden and co-sponsored by PC’s Career Service for Seniors. Students and alumni from the conference’s 16 schools were eligible to attend. More than 2,450 students from BIG EAST schools pre-registered and more than 50 of those were PC students.

• From March 24 through April 27, thousands of students and alumni from the BIG EAST schools are eligible to take part in the BIG EAST e-fair. The e-fair is an online job fair where students can search for permanent jobs, summer work, and internship opportunities.

• On March 29, the Office of Career Services, the School of Business, and the Office of Institutional Advancement assisted in sponsoring the Future Friars Executives (FFE) second annual “Pathways to Success” Business Conference in the Smith Center for the Arts. The FFE serves as a channel for students and faculty to explore new opportunities within the business field. The group of undergraduates works to enhance the education of its members through participation in workshops, lectures, and professional conferences.

The conference featured a keynote address by Mathilde Levesque ’85, president and market director for Clear Channel Communications in Detroit, Mich., followed by seminars on various business professions presented by accomplished alumni.

• On March 31, the College again hosted students and alumni at the Spring Job Fair 2008.

• On April 17, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, R.I., the College will be one of six Rhode Island colleges and universities to take part in the 14th annual Rhode Island Consortium for Educators Career Fair. Graduating seniors and recent alumni are eligible to attend the fair, which brings hiring professionals from school districts nationwide to the area to interview students.

• As part of an ongoing career series, two additional alumni career expert presentations to students were held in early April. Bob Donnelly ’68, an entertain­ment attorney from New York City, spoke to students about careers in the music business, and Patrick Dwyer ’91, Peter Foley ’91, and David Higgins ’92, executives with Merrill Lynch in New York City, discussed careers in the investment and brokerage fields.

In between fielding questions from students looking toward life after college at the Providence Alumni-Student Career Night, Steven Basson ’79, vice president and actuary for The Hartford Financial Services, tried to sum up why he and other PC alumni take part in the various career events offered by the College.

Basson said it was a chance to connect with students, as well as potential future employees, and an opportunity to give back to the school that gave him so much and got him started down his professional path.

“I found someone who mentored me when I was here,” Basson said. “This is what we’re trying to do.”

That’s the kind of attitude that Clarkin said makes the career events such a success.

“Numerous alumni participants indicate that they benefited from similar programs in their undergraduate years, resulting in information, internship leads, and networking referrals that helped shaped their careers,” she said.