During my childhood, I’d habitually attend “Disney on Ice.” I can recall the sensation of wearing my Toy Story T-shirt and proudly buzzing the lightening toys sold at the event. During those moments, I genuinely felt a connection with the adult performers parading like toddlers around the rink. During those minutes, nothing could distract my level of attentiveness. Recently, I found myself tingling with a more mature but quite similar batch of emotions.
Earlier last month, I had the pleasure of attending Celebration of BU, a groundbreaking event that strengthened the bond between alumni and current students. The event held in BU’s Agganis Arena told the story of the university’s foundation. Watching the speakers and performers take the ice in very unique ways was simply mesmerizing. The most captivating part of the night to me dealt with the speaker distribution. More than half of the speakers were COM alumni. Throughout the weekend, distinguished alumni, including Bravo’s Andy Cohen and CBS correspondent Erica Hill, spoke to students about their success and provided a plethora of advice.
The event kicked off BU’s billion-dollar campaign to support student life programs, faculty enrichment, scholarships, and research. The abundance of alumni connections highlighted during the festivities brought happiness to all.
In particular, it reminded me of the career services available for me to discuss employment options post college, land interviews, connect with alumni, and develop my resume and cover letter. Earlier this semester COM’s career service center -which has a database consisting of over 600 internships- held a open house. Attendees had the opportunity to take professional headshots for their LinkedIn accounts and were also given an overview of the services offered through the center. Later this month COM will hold one of its amazing networking meet and greets where students will have the opportunity to converse with professionals currently practicing in their field of interest.
I view BU as a toolbox full of opportunities to tailor your skills and get ready for the workforce and all the wonders of the world. The services readily available remind me that just as our motto puts great emphasis on virtue and piety, a underlying theme known to all within this community is that this network is immense and “you’ll always have a friend in them.”