Backpack to Briefcase: where students and alumni meet

November 25, 2015

As part of the Backpack to Briefcase (b2B) program, U of T’s Political Science and Economics departments recently joined forces to host a ‘Mentorship Meal’ at U of T’s Faculty Club.

The program, run by the Faculty of Arts and Science, is designed to bring students and alumni together in various social settings such as Career Centre Workshops, Alumni/Student Networking Events and Mentorship Meals. Here students meet, mingle and network with alumni and faculty members from their department who are willing to offer guidance, career advice and encouragement.

Alumni guests from Political Science included Brett Chang, Marketing Manager at Uber, Jacob Glick, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Rogers Communications and Julie Arsenault, HR Professional at St. Joseph’s Health Centre. Political Science faculty in attendance included Professor and Chair Louis Pauly, Professor Andrea Olive and Professor Seva Gunitsky.

Illia Maslyanskyy, currently in the final year of his Political Science degree said “I enjoyed that the alumni speakers gave students advice that we don’t normally get in class – be out there, meet new people, network and work on your social and emotional intelligence. It was great hearing the speakers’ advice and I’m very happy that I was able to learn something new about how the ‘real world’ works.”

Karen Seeley, a third year political science student said “The most helpful part was to see successful alumni, and to realize that they too were in school wondering what they would be doing after graduation. Their advice was more about their difficulties and failures, and how they overcame them, than their marks at school. I liked how the alumni didn’t have specific plans for their careers, but followed their passion. And their degree helped them do what they wanted to do.”

For 2015 -16, there are 45 Academic units across the University of Toronto offering b2B programming to students and alumni.

For more information visit http://alumni.artsci.utoronto.ca/b2b/