Making Career Connections
The Alumni Association has made the mentoring of students by alumni a key priority in the coming years. The goal is to inspire more and more alumni to help students develop the necessary tools and skills to land high-quality jobs.

For years now, the Academic and Career Advising Office at Keene State has been doing just that. It is a valuable resource for students throughout their college experience and for alumni during their professional lives. In addition to skilled advisors, the office offers students and alumni its Career Resource Center, a voluminous library of books, videos, bulletins, and handouts. It is also a source of job postings for new grads as well as experienced workers.

Many alumni have used the career connection website JobWise (www.keene.edu/aca/job_search.cfm) to post positions for their companies and also to view current postings they might wish to apply to. These positions range from internships to part-time and full-time employment with companies in the Keene area and throughout the United States.

The Career Advising Office also links students and alumni to trade journal websites that provide job postings in many diverse career fields such as management, art, performing arts, education, writing, editing and communications, environmental fields, and international jobs. The office also has an online database of internships.

Another great resource for career networking at Keene State is through academic departments, which have specialized networks to help their graduates and alumni communicate about positions in their major. For example, the Safety Center at Keene State updates its website, www.keenesafety.com, regularly with positions ranging from safety specialist to safety engineer. This is a wonderful resource for safety studies students and alumni.

This spring, the Alumni Association is helping students prepare for life after KSC by co-sponsoring "Let's Get Professional" on Tuesday, April 14, from 4 to 8:30 p.m. This event will feature Jim Rice '97 as the keynote speaker, discussing the transition students must make between the classroom and their first jobs. The event includes workshop sessions on debt management (Tori Berube '86), applying for graduate school, and networking (Jack Griffin '72, Al Hodsdon '69, and David Gagne '73).

I can't stress enough how vitally important it is for alumni to share contacts, ideas, and resources. It is wonderful to help students and fellow alumni attain high-quality positions that enable them to contribute to society and live prosperous lives.

I hope you will consider reaching out to students and other alumni should you need an employee or seek a change of career or employment. My career has been peppered with great connections between alums of many different eras at KSC. It has certainly enriched my professional experiences.

David Gagne '73
President, Alumni Association Board of Directors