Students and Alumni make valuable connection

Once they arrived in New York, the students split up into six different groups—depending on their fields—and visited two different workplaces in their areas of study, ranging from theaters and publishing houses to marketing firms and TV studios.

“This program connects current students with experienced alumni by offering the opportunity for students to learn first-hand how classroom theories apply to the various career paths of Emerson alumni,” said Mary Ann Cicala, associate director of alumni relations. “It also offers the students a snapshot of what it’s like to live and work in New York.”

In addition, Cicala recognizes the impact of partnering cross-departmentally to build relationships and confidence in the program. “This has monumentally increased the value for the participants and hosts,” Cicala said, “since it encourages students to get to know the resources they have on campus as well as the resources available to them within the alumni community.”

Carol Spector, director of career services, and a group of Broadcast Journalism students visited the set of Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), where they were hosted by Judy Tygard ’80, senior producer of 48 Hours Mystery.

“Right in the middle of our visit,” Spector recalled, “President Obama was speaking, so we were able to see the scramble of staffers getting ready to cover the event.” She noted that one of the important parts of New York Connection is simply seeing the workplaces.

Stephanie Morrison ’07, of Alumni Relations, said the New York Connection “really shows how expansive our Emerson network is and how willing alumni are to speak with students. Members of our community who are just five or ten years out were able to explain how they went from Emerson to their careers today.”

One of the major highlights of the experience was when all of the students gathered together at MTV Networks in Times Square for a networking event that was hosted by the New York alumni chapter. With roughly one alumnus to every student, the group spent about two hours networking and learning about each other.

Photo Credits: Owen Hope ’09