Name: Alyssa Ferguson
Hometown: Charleston, WV
School/Major: I’m a proud University of Pittsburgh alumna! I graduated from Pitt in December 2014 with a Bachelor in Arts in Media and Professional Communications, Minor in Studio Arts, Corporate/Community Relations Certificate, Digital Media Certificate, and Leadership Certificate.
Current Position: Alumni Networking Coordinator
Her Campus: Can you tell us a little about your role here at Pitt?
Alyssa Ferguson: I serve as the Alumni Networking Coordinator in the Office of Career Development and Placement Assistance (CDPA) and the liaison to the Alumni Association. Through this position, I develop relationships with alumni and recruit alumni to return to Pitt’s campus to network with students through career focused networking events. I coordinate and facilitate alumni and student networking events on campus throughout the academic year and in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City during CDPA’s Shadow In Your City program in the summer. Additionally, I coordinate employer and student networking events as I’m on the employer relations team—that’s the team working hard to recruit top employers to come to Pitt’s campus to recruit Pitt students! I manage the Alumni-In-Residence program, a program in which a core group of notable alumni volunteer to host one-on-one office hours with students and niche workshops. I also have the rewarding opportunity to advise the Career Development Society for Young Professionals, the newly found student organization which strives to professionally develop members and Pitt students through career development programming, networking, and leadership development. In conclusion, I have a very fluid position working with alumni, employers, and students!
HC: What is your favorite part of your job?
AF: I love meeting new alumni, learning about their favorite Pitt memories, and helping them to find an avenue to share their experiences with current Pitt students!
HC: What are some big things you have done under this role?
AF: It’s hard to select just one…so I’ll highlight two of my favorites this year. I had the opportunity to collaborate with our office, the Office of Career Development and Placement Assistance (CDPA), along with the Pitt Alumni Association, Pitt Innovation Institute, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), and Pittsburgh Technology Council (PTC) to bring about Pitt’s inaugural Innovation Week–a weeklong series of robust and innovative program designed to benefit students and alumni interested in pursuing careers in the entrepreneurial and start up industries. Innovation Week, which was held in November 2016, consisted of pitch competitions, a startup alumni panel, a networking luncheon held up at the Pete, a startup job fair at CMU, job site visits to local start ups, and more. It was an amazing experience collaborating with so many different departments on campus in addition to community partners and another university!
Last summer, I had the opportunity to help facilitate Pitt Networking Day with the Northern California Pitt Club! I traveled to the Bay Area and had the chance to meet alumni living and working in San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland. It’s pretty surreal being on the other side of the country and being able to connect with someone you just met, who has a 40 year age difference, over the love of cheesy “O” fries!
HC: What event are you most excited for this semester?
AF: I’m looking forward to Pitt Is It in NYC, which will take place over Spring Break on March 10 during the ACC basketball tournament in NYC. During Pitt Is It in NYC, we will be taking groups of Pitt students to 10 various job shadow site visits to meet employers. I’ll be escorting students to a site visit to HBO, which was made possible through a Pitt alumni connection who currently works at HBO Sports. Surrounding these employer site visits, I’ll also facilitate an alumni and student networking event so that current Pitt students have the opportunity to network with alumni who live and work in NYC so that they can gain perspective on what it is like transitioning from college to career in that city. The full list of site visits is available with registration still open on Handshake, found in your my.pitt.edu portal.
HC: Tell us a little more about the Diversity Networking Breakfast.
AF: The Pittsburgh Region Diversity Networking Breakfast is an intimate networking event taking place before the last day of the Spring Career Fair on February 17 from 9:00-10:30 a.m. in Nordy’s Place. At this breakfast, student attendees will have the unique opportunity to network with 25 select top tier employers who have expressed interest in hiring diverse talent and have tangible job opportunities in the Pittsburgh region. The Office of Career Development and Placement Assistance has partnered with a handful of amazing student organizations–African Students Organization, Black Action Society, Rainbow Alliance, and Students for Disability Advocacy–to educate employers on some of the diversity and inclusion initiatives that are being advocated through Pitt student organizations.
The Pittsburgh Region Diversity Networking Breakfast will kick off at 9:00 a.m. with a keynote presentation delivered by Vibrant Pittsburgh, an organization whose mission is to, “embrace inclusion, to ensure the Pittsburgh region’s growth by attracting, retaining and elevating a diversity of talent, and to promote the region nationally and internationally as a diverse, welcoming region of opportunities.” This will be followed by a breakfast buffet and open networking with employers.
We encourage all students who self-identify in a diverse student population to attend this event! It’s an amazing opportunity for students to set themselves apart before the Spring Career Fair takes place that same day from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in the William Pitt Union.
HC: What do you hope for students to get out of this event?
AF: At this event, we hope to provide a platform for diverse students to have a premiere opportunity to network with a variety of the region’s top employers who have expressed interest in meeting diverse student talent! This event is a great way for students to stand out to employers before the career fair and make meaningful connections.
HC: What is your favorite thing about Pitt?
AF: The people–Pitt gave me the best of friends, such an amazing college experience, and now a great career! #H2P
If you are interested in attending the Pittsburgh Region Diversity Networking Breakfast, which will be held February 17th at 9 AM in Nordy’s Place, register here!
Photo Credits: From the interviewee