Alumni association to hold student career conference

Friday, February 19, 1999

Alumni association to hold student career conference

JOBS: Workshops allow Bruins to explore options in various
business fields

By Karen Thompson

Daily Bruin Contributor

Aiming to offer students the chance to explore their career
options, the alumni association will hold its sixth annual Student
Career Conference Saturday in Ackerman Union.

The day’s events, which begin at 9 a.m., will include several
speeches, career preparatory workshops, remarks by Chancellor
Albert Carnesale and a networking luncheon for students and
alumni.

"The purpose of the conference is to give students preparation
for careers," said Cindy Chernow, the alumni association’s director
of career services.

The conference will open with a keynote speech by alumna Dot
Richardson, who was a 1996 Olympic gold medalist for softball and
is currently an orthopedic surgeon.

The keynote address will be followed by two 60-minute workshop
sessions. Each student participant will attend two workshops, which
will cover topics such as resumes, interviews and starting
businesses.

The networking luncheon will be held after the workshops.

"The most important part of the day is the luncheon where
students will be able to talk to these people about their fields,"
Chernow said. "They’ll be able to explore careers and have some
time to build connections."

More than 70 alumni in a variety of fields will attend the
conference, many of whom have participated in previous years.

"Last year I got a lot of good feedback from the alumni. I
actually got a couple phone numbers," said Mia Nguyen, a third-year
business economics student and event organizing committee
member.

Organizers began planning the conference about four months ago,
Nguyen said.

"I would hope to think that our program is different from
others," Nguyen said. "It’s not just having representatives from
Ernst and Young. It’s teaching you how to get that job from Ernst
and Young."

About 200 students are expected to attend the conference, but
registration forms will only be accepted through today.

Participation in the conference has decreased in the past two
years. The 1997 conference had an attendance of 600 students,
according to Chernow.

"It’s one of the best events we put on. I don’t know why
attendance has been so low," Chernow said.

The conference is part of a series of events which will take
place during Career Month, which is sponsored by the Career Center
each February.

"We want to help students get their careers off to great starts.
That’s why our slogan has been, ‘Where great careers begin,’" said
Joyce Haraughty, marketing and media relations coordinator at the
Career Center.

Career Month includes a variety of workshops, panels and a job
fair which was held on Feb. 5. Saturday’s conference is one of the
month’s scheduled events.

"I’m just sad that not everyone gets to experience this
worthwhile event," Nguyen said. "Every student at UCLA would
benefit from this, no matter what your major is."

The conference’s registration fee is $10 for Student Alumni
Association members and $15 for non-members.

"Students who come will learn what they’ve never learned
before," Chernow said. "You never know what little piece of
information you can pick up that will drastically change the course
of your life."

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