Second-year students embrace alumni conversations and insights
November 20, 2025 — Three months into his second year at Grinnell College, Matthew Katsman ’28 has repeatedly heard about the importance of networking.
Having never experienced it himself, he decided to attend the Awkward-Free Networking Reception – the first event of a new conference for second-years. There he talked with several members of Grinnell College’s Alumni Council.
“Networking is something recommended to me all the time,” Katsman said. “This event was with alumni, so it’s more welcoming. I feel like alums are relatable; they are very human. Normal networking events you see in a movie, everyone is in a suit and tie. It’s soulless. Here it’s not like that.”
Aisha Abdallah ’28, left, Matthew Katsman ’28, and Waka Mimuro ’28 talk with Alumni Council member Anton Jones ’02 at the Awkward-Free Networking Reception on Nov. 7.
About 70 students in the class of 2028 attended the Second-Year Spotlight Nov. 7-8 on campus. This inaugural event featured panels of industry experts, guidance on financial literacy, an interactive etiquette dinner, plenty of networking opportunities with Council members, who were in town for their fall meetings, and a group of a dozen local alumni who volunteered their Saturday to spend time with students.
The conference was jointly planned by the Center for Careers, Life, and Service (CLS), the Office of Development and Alumni Relations (DAR), and the Alumni Council’s Career Exploration Task Force. Working with Jessica Stewart, senior associate director of alumni and donor relations, the purpose of the task force is to partner with the CLS and DAR to improve pathways through which alumni can support students’ career exploration.
“The second years are a bit of an overlooked group,” said Sasha Aslanian ’90, who co-chairs the task force with Tony Pham ’03. “They are trying to figure out the really hard stuff like picking their major while starting to put pressure on themselves about what they are doing next summer that will look really impressive. As alums, we are trying to reach them early. If we can get in the ears of second-years and give them some different ideas to think about, it might spark something for them.”
That’s precisely what Aisha Abdallah ’28 was hoping to gain from the Second-Year Spotlight. Before the conference she was unsure of her career ambitions as well as what she should be doing this school year to help her figure things out.
Kaitlyn Thach ’28, left, Amy Tai ’28, and Aarav Sharma ’28 enjoy conversing from Alumni Council member David Kurzman ’96.
“Alums have already been through it, so they are perfect people to talk with,” she said. “It’s reassuring. This event has made me feel better.”
Raissa Batra ’28 already knows she wants to go into finance.
“But it’s a field that is really hard to get into if you don’t have connections,” Barta said. “I wanted to build connections as a student and also talk to people who have been here before me. It’s been amazing talking to alums from all fields. One thing I like about Grinnell is you can major in one thing and then do something completely different. That was interesting to know.”
Aslanian, a supervising producer in podcast programming at ABC News in New York, gave the keynote speech at a Friday dinner titled, “Will I Ever Amount to Anything? Spoiler: Yes.” She hopes student takeaways include the wide variety of things Grinnellians do and the zig-zag that many people take in their careers.
“That’s one of my favorite things about Grinnellians,” she said. “We were talking about this flexibility of thinking, being open, seizing opportunities, and figuring out how to take what students know and apply it in a new direction. Those are liberal arts skills that will help them navigate a rapidly evolving world out there.”
Emily Creery, an exploratory adviser in the CLS, left, moderates the Education+ Alumni Career Panels with Alumni Council members Mairéad O’Grady ’10, Jeremy Youde ’99, David Calvert ’75, and Ben Vaughn Jr. ’15.
As students left the conference on Friday, they were handed chocolates with different sayings on the wrappers. Steve MacFarlane ’82 collected career and life advice that he and his fellow Alumni Council members had received over the years and put them on the chocolates.
Chocolates with shared life
and career advice.
On Saturday, students took part in Alumni Career Panels moderated by faculty members and the Ask Alumni Mentoring Circles. Alumni Council member David Kurzman ’96 led a personal finances wellness seminar, and students attended a Professional Development Fair where alums and staff from the CLS organized resume reviews and mock interviews, among other activities. The students closed the conference with a special etiquette dinner to brush up on their social and professional dining skills.
Alumni Council member Mairéad O’Grady ’10 was joined by four other alums at the Education+ Alumni Career Panel. O’Grady said she loves talking to Grinnell students, and thinks the timing is perfect to have these connection points with second-years.
“I love learning about what make them excited about this place, but also what frustrates them about Grinnell,” she said. “They are happy to celebrate all things Grinnell, but they are still thinking critically and asking important questions about how the College is operating.”
—by Jeremy Shapiro