Networking symposium goes virtual
W
estminster’s Professional Networking Symposium—the successful annual networking event for alumni and students—may have gone virtual this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, but that didn’t diminish its impact. In fact, it meant more enhanced offerings for students and opportunities for alumni from across the globe to participate. The two-day virtual Zoom event in September featured a career fair, breakout panels and networking opportunities for students on the first day, while the second day’s events were specifically geared for alumni looking to network with industry professionals from around the world. “The digital approach allowed us to involve alumni from across the world as panelists and attendees without the traditional barriers of distance and travel costs,” said Westminster’s Senior Director of Alumni Engagement Kara Montgomery. Even with a five-hour time difference, Bryan Greig ’16, an alumnus from Northern Ireland, was excited to be one of those far-reaching participating alumni. “I wanted to take part in the symposium because of how useful and inspiring I found the event while I was a student,” said Greig. “I am a very proud alum of WC. I view the College as a place that took a chance on me and I want to give back however I can.” (See Greig’s profile at right.) The symposium was founded by Dr. Daniel Fischmar, professor of economics emeritus, and alumni Dr. Christie Nelson ’06, assistant research professor for the Professional Science Master’s Program along with a Department of Homeland Security Research Center (CCICADA. org) at Rutgers University, and Benjamin Nelson ’06, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody’s Investor Services. 3 2 w w w.w e s t m i n s t e r. e d u
Bryan Greig ’16
B.S., Business Administration Belfast, Northern Ireland
Alumni Q&A When Bryan Greig ’16 was seeking his undergraduate degree at Westminster, he could often be seen somersaulting his way across campus, usually with a GoPro camera attached to his body. Not afraid to take risks, Greig’s energy and passion have guided him in his entrepreneurial pursuits, through the air as a skydiver and even now as he seeks new career opportunities. Greig—one of this year’s alumni participants in the annual Professional Networking Symposium—talks about his student experience with the Symposium. What impact did the Professional Networking Symposium have on you? The Professional Networking Symposium was the first time I had seen the power of alumni. In Northern Ireland and the U.K. in general we don’t really connect with our university beyond graduation. At Westminster I saw all these wonderful alumni giving their time and energy to help those coming after them. I realized that people actually cared. Then you add on the personal growth that naturally comes from meeting and talking to new people, some who may be in industries you are interested in—the Professional Networking Symposium just should not be missed! What were some of the symposium’s highlights for you? I was able to get personalized feedback on my résumé from people working in industries I was interested in. I loved attending the different seminars and listening to the clearly very knowledgeable and intelligent people there. I ended up leaving the symposium with a job offer for the summer. What are you doing with your life now? After graduating from Westminster, I attempted to start my own tech company and somehow ended up being nominated for “U.K. Young Entrepreneur of the Year.” I pitched for and won some funding from venture capitalists and set up a company called Guzzl, a smartphone-based food and drink ordering service. Ultimately, the business was not a success, unfortunately. Then I got into the weird world of indoor skydiving/bodyflight where I helped set up and run commercial vertical wind tunnels in the U.K. and the United States. I recently started my post-grad in software engineering and data science at Ulster University. What advice do you have for students getting ready to go into the job market? Don’t be afraid of failure. The fastest and best way to learn is to fail. Be proud of it. Figure out who you look up to and read their biography. I promise you they will have failed, too.
