The Marketing Association held its first alumni panel on Tuesday, April 13.

The panel was open to all business majors. The alumni included managers, owners and presidents of companies.

The main theme of the night was to learn where past Cabrini College business majors have found careers. The alumni each told stories of their journeys through the world of business. Questions were then opened to the students in the audience and a networking session was held at the end.

“These panels are valuable to students because it helps the students for the future. It is also great networking for internships. These alumni of Cabrini College will stop everything to help in any way,” Jodi Romano, director of alumni development, said.

Many students have specific expectations for careers after college and want to plan the rest of their lives. In contrast, the stories alumni told showed that nothing goes the way one expects it will.

“I’ve transferred from almost five different jobs from the time of graduation up until now, and this is where I exactly want to be,” Brian Rice, class of ‘01, online marketing manager of SAP, said.

“I was a psychology major and ended up in the world of business. I am now the president of White Horse Village. Who would of ever of thought that I would be the president of a company? Not me,” Mary Kay Burke, Class of ‘69, president of White Horse Village, said.

Eddie O’Brien, Class of ‘84 and owner of Surplus Metals Corporation, was one graduate who had determination. O’Brien graduated from Cabrini and had no job lined up. His sister met a man who had given his card to her and she passed it along to O’Brien. He walked into the office, asked to speak to the owner, waited patiently until he arrived and asked him for a job. He offered to work for free.

O’Brien was hired right on the spot. After learning the business of surplus metals, he would go to different jobs, get hired and ask for raises. When the raises were not granted to him, he decided to create his own business. This continued for almost more than three years. O’Brien is now the owner of Surplus Metals in Bala Cynwyd.

The alumni could not emphasize enough to students that they should take risks and not be afraid to go outside of their comfort zone.

“I learned a lot about not being afraid. I need to apply my strengths to the world,” Alyssa Frieze, senior business administration major, said.

“This event was not only fun but beneficial to all students. It was also a great opportunity for us students to network and find out that there are plenty of job opportunities through the alumni office,” Rebecca Kincade, senior marketing major, said.

To learn more about getting in touch with Cabrini College alumni, contact Jodi Romano, director of alumni development, at jdr63@cabrini.edu. If students would like to learn more about marketing, contact the Marketing Association at ccmarketingclub@gmail.com to become a member.

Frank Emmerich '92, an attorney, speaks with senior Meghan Smith. photo by Matt McGuirman.

Cabrini students gathered to get a leg up on the job hunt and receive advice from alumni.

A Speed Career Networking event, held in the Mansion on Tuesday, March 16, helped students get ready for interviews and start making connections.

Alumni from multiple job fields gave advice, based on their real world experience, to interested students ready to start job searching.

The alumni gave students mock interviews and traded contact information.

“You need to think about where you are, and what you need to do in order to advance your career” Nancy Hutchinson, director of the co-op and career services center, said.

Students and alumni were given name tags and numbers.

The numbers were associated with tables, similar to the event’s inspiration from speed dating.

Students and alumni would find their seats and following 10 minutes of advice and conversation, the students move on to the next table.

“It was nerve wracking but once we got into it, it was easy,” Jenn Bollinger, senior political science major, said. “The alumni know what it’s like to be at Cabrini and then go out and try and get a job. I was really hoping to start my job search here and it worked out better than expected. These connections are real and I hope to use them to get my dream job.”

Alumni gave advice for seniors starting their careers as well as to underclassmen thinking about their futures.

“An event like this is important because it helps students meet the right people in the right industy of work, ” Michaela Enriquez, senior human resources major, said. “It helps get their name out there to successful people who are willing and eager to help them. It was even better that they were Cabrini Alumni because they could relate to you and knew what you were going through.”

Students interacted with alumni in fields of their interest but also other various fields, giving them practice for future job hunting.

The event also debuted a new position within the co-op office. Jocelyn Tutrani, coordinator of first year career development, brings a full array of professional assistance for students of all levels.

There are also new ways to get students into the working world. Job shadowing allows students to literally follow the foot steps of someone in any career path.

This means not only will students get a first-person look into a career, but networking is bound to happen.

It was noted that the social networking site, Linkedin, is like Facebook for networking.

Cabrini alumni have a strong presence on the site. There, students can meet new people, get help with preparing for jobs and possible even get jobs on the site.

Many of Cabrini’s best alumni basketball players came back out on the Cavalier floor on Saturday for the Annual Cabrini men’s and Cabrini women’s alumni basketball games.

The women’s Alumni played their game first at 11 a.m. followed by the men’s alumni game at 6 p.m on Saturday, Feb. 13.

Both games played were spirited, fast paced and full of twists. Both the men’s and women’s alumni were split into two teams to face each other.

The teams consisted of a grey team and a blue team. The grey team featured some of Cabrini’s older players, whereas the blue team featured some even more familiar faces of recently graduated athletes.

Although there was a range of alumni present at both games, a majority of the players were graduates of the class of 2009.

Both of these alumni games were a great opportunity for alumni to catch up with one another.

Although competition was definitely present during both of these games, the spirit of reconnecting with each other over shadowed this.

“It felt good to be back. It was a pleasure to go out there and compete. It only happens once a year and it’s good to see my family again,” Randy Reid, class of ’08, said.

Reid took the game as an opportunity to “have fun, but be competitive,” as it was also clear that all the athletes of Cavaliers past played hard and enjoyed themselves out on the court.

Reid said, “It only happens once a year and it’s good to see my family again.”

Between both alumni games, both the men’s and women’s alumni were invited to enjoy a reception in the Dixon Center Board Room in order to get reacquainted with fellow alumni.

After both alumni games, all alumni were invited to an after-party at J.D. McGillicuddies in Ardmore, Pa.

“It always feels great to be back,” Billy Carr, class of ’96, said.