As part of their role at CES, our student staff members are required to attend Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK) Night. They help us set up, welcome alumni and students, and make sure the evening runs smoothly. But we also encourage them to take a break from working to chat with alumni!
What do they* have to say about the upcoming ASK Night?
Alums are at ASK Night to meet you and help you, Logger-to-Logger
“I look forward to meeting some new people, listening to their stories, and gaining new perspectives—and hopefully a little advice. I really believe that all students should attend ASK Night, because it is a completely unique way to meet graduate Loggers who share similar interests with yourself. My advice: Don’t be afraid of approaching someone—they are there to help, and want to talk to you.” ~Grace
“ASK Night can make an impact on your career choice because you’re actually able to talk to someone ‘in the field.’ Definitely go and talk to alums—all of these people were once in our shoes and obviously know how to get to where they are now.” ~Jacob
“At ASK Night, I’ve had the opportunity to talk to educators, psychologists, and people who went abroad to the same place I’m going. It’s also fun to talk to people who studied one field in college, and are pursuing something that doesn’t sound related, but is! It’s exciting to hear about peoples’ journey after UPS.” ~Mackenzie
ASK Night is the perfect place to practice your networking skills
“ASK night is always a fun night and a great networking experience. Students are excited to network and share their experience, and alumni are excited to reminisce and advocate for their business or path after UPS. If you’ve never been, I strongly recommend it just to get started in the networking process and making yourself more comfortable talking to professionals.” ~Mackenzie
“Talking with alumni is going to be a great way to get some networking practice in before the next Career Fair!“ ~Ella
It’s natural to feel anxious
“I am a little nervous about attending ASK Night—who isn’t nervous about talking to a bunch of people you’ve never met before? But I’m excited because these are Logger alumni! I’m looking forward to meeting people that share a common experience with me and I’m interested in hearing how Puget Sound has changed over the years.” ~Ella
A little preparation can help you feel more comfortable
“I’m definitely going to check out the list of alumni before attending ASK Night, and look them up in the ASK Network on LinkedIn, too.” ~Ella
“It would be helpful to have some pre-written questions to bring, in order to prepare your thoughts and make the best use of your time.” ~Jacob
Even though it isn’t part of your job description, require yourself to attend ASK Night to meet all of the awesome Logger alumni! It’s less work than you might imagine, and there are so many benefits to connecting Logger-to-Logger.
Plus, the CES team will be on hand to answer your questions, suggest alumni of interest, and offer a pep talk if needed. Required or not, we hope to see you there!
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*Thank you to our CES student staff members for sharing their thoughts about ASK Night!
CES Peer Advisor: Ella Frazer ’18 | English & Religion majors
Lead CES Assistant: Mackenzie Fisher ’19 | Psychology & Spanish majors
CES Assistant: Grace Mattocks ’20 | International Relations major
CES Assistant: Jacob Pogorek ’20 | Psychology major
Photo Credit | Mackenzie Fisher ’19 & Audra Delisle ’11 welcoming alumni to ASK Night: Kris Hay
© 2017 Career and Employment Services, University of Puget Sound