CareerDay Alumni, Students & Faculty Participate in Alumni Career Day 2022
The benefits of professional networking was demonstrated on January 28th during Alumni Career Day. Forty-three alumni returned to campus either in-person (38) or virtually (5) to share their experiences and give advice to 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students. As always, the faculty played a key role in supporting the event and adding weight and perspective to the discussions as panel moderators. The spirit of any school’s alumni community is vital, and Austin Prep’s alumni are particularly generous with their time, sharing hard-earned lessons from their own career journeys. The availability of our alumni as guides and counselors is an important part of what makes an Austin Prep education so valuable, not just during one’s school years, but throughout one’s life. Dr. Hickey stressed the lifelong nature of being part of the Austin Prep family when, during his opening remarks to the students, he said, “You will hear from people further along in their journeys, with successful careers in various professions, who have returned to campus to share their experiences with you. I hope one day, you will return, too.” Alumni Career Day is designed to provide the maximum exchange of practical information, from big-picture panel discussions on a wide variety of careers to much more detail-oriented one-on-one conversations during the Career Fair. Everyone agreed that this year’s Alumni Career Day exceeded expectations. “This was the best organized Alumni Career Day with the widest range of career topics ever offered,” said panelist Joe Sciacca ’75, Enterprise Editor, 7News WHDH-TV. “And I’ve attended several of these at Austin Prep.” Gianna Gravalese ’16, Entertainment and Lifestyle Reporter for NESN’s Dirty Water TV, remarked on the students’ knowledgeability, focus and motivation. Panelist Kathleen (Katie) McKendry ’05, Promotions Manager, NBC10 Boston & NECN, was equally impressed. “I found the 12
Jennifer Leonardo ’05, RN, speaks with a student during the Career Fair
students to be even more engaged in our conversations than I expected, which was very exciting.” “The students had wonderful, inquisitive questions,” said David Salibian ’93 DMD, FICOI, Owner, Eye Smile in Belmont. (To see just how carefully some students’ have mapped out their career plans, see “Passion & Preparation” in this issue.) As noted, the range of careers represented this year was more comprehensive than ever. Students had the opportunity to attend two panel sessions that covered: Athletics, Broadcasting/ Media, Education, Engineering, Entrepreneurship/Business/ Finance, First Responders, Government Relations/Politics, Health & Wellness, Legal Services, Marketing/Communications, Military, Performing Arts, Real Estate/Sales, Sciences, Technology, and Writing/Journalism. Spring 2022
