Dozens of Wildcats in an array of professional fields gathered for a lively evening of networking and career advice
There’s something unique about the connections formed when like-minded professionals get in a room to talk shop, especially when they all have a common tie to Williston. This March, more than 50 alumni were on hand for our professional networking event at the New York Athletic Club. Sarah Levine Meyer ’00, Managing Director for Account Services at One North Interactive, kicked things off with a keynote address about interviewing tips and tricks. After that, alums met by industry at small breakout tables to swap stories and make new introductions. “Having access to folks in a network that you are properly a part of is a golden ticket in many instances,” Meyer said about the importance of networking. “It helps you find doorways that otherwise are hidden.”
Whether the topic was entertainment, finance, government work, or architecture, there was a roundtable for everyone to join in on. For Christina Djossa ’10, producer for the New York Times’ “Modern Love” podcast, the night served as a great reminder of how important face-to-face meetings can be. “Especially in this weird, post-pandemic world, you want to have a place to meet people and get to know other people—because it’s harder to do that nowadays, especially when you can meet someone virtually.”
Dan Phakos ’06, a freelance filmmaker and director of photography who has attended several of our NYC-area events over the years, said that he enjoyed the networking event because of the exposure to new people. “There are a lot of Williston alumni down here in New York,” he said. “But you rarely meet other people outside your industry. So it’s just nice to have an in-person connection with other folks and get a chance to meet alumni that are much younger or much older than me.”
Steve Hoyt ’95 P’25, ’25, our Director of Alumni Engagement, echoed these sentiments: “The night was amazing, it was great to see so many of our alumni make new connections,” he said. “These events help highlight the power of alumni networking, and we want to make sure everyone knows the incredible network that’s already out there.”
Want to continue building on your professional network ahead of our next event? Make sure to connect with us on LinkedIn! Our main page is where we share information about campus and alumni activity, but we also have three affinity groups to join: Williston Alumni, Alumni of Color, and Women of Williston. Hope to see you there!