Alumni speaker series a stress reliever for students

Mom and dad might know what’s best but assistant professor Michael Mercier (above) says students want their career advice from someone else.

For students in the School of Earth, Environment & Society, alumni like Stephen Erickson fit the bill. Stephen graduated in 2015 with a BA in Geography. He added a diploma from Mohawk College and then started his career with the City of Hamilton’s Planning and Economic Development Department. He then worked as a CAD designer and urban planning technician at a consulting firm before landing his current job as a senior planning technician with another firm.

Stephen’s career path caught Mike’s attention. He’s the undergraduate associate director for the School of Earth, Environment and Society. Mike makes a point of following the school’s grads on LinkedIn. He draws on those connections to recruit speakers for an annual Alumni Career Lunchtime Speaker Series. Mike runs the series with the school’s undergrad student association. While Mike fosters the relationships with the school’s alumni and recruits them to come to campus to speak to students, it’s the student association that takes care of all the event logistics. “We couldn’t run this series without the students’ help,” says Mike.

Stephen is one of 14 alumni who’ve made guest appearances in the last year. “My years at McMaster were some of the best of my life so I jumped at the opportunity to come back to Mac and talk with students. It was a real honour to be invited. I wanted students to know that a great career is within their reach because of what they’re learning and doing in their programs.”

If participation marks were handed out at the speaker series, the students at Stephen’s talk would’ve scored perfect grades. “They were so engaged and attentive. I felt like a prof when I heard the students typing after I made a point or put up a PowerPoint slide. And there was a lot of great one-on-one follow-up conversations after the session.”

It’s no coincidence that all 14 speakers have been mid-career professionals. “We’ve found that students want to hear from alumni who have around 10 to 15 years of work experience,” says Mike, who, as a dad to a 22-year-old student at another university, speaks from experience.

While it’s good to get wisdom and inspiration from alumni who are at the pinnacle of their careers, Mike says students are also looking for practical advice from grads who aren’t the same age as their parents.

The speaker series is intended to be a stress reliever for students. “They feel huge pressure to have their career paths figured out and locked in before graduating,” says Mike. “It’s a real source of anxiety. The alumni in our speaker series can relate. They felt the same pressure. By talking with our students, they show that career trajectories aren’t straight paths but instead twist, turn and lead to opportunities that you’re not expecting. It’s a reassuring message that students appreciate hearing.”

Mike’s set his sights on having 10 guest speakers over 10 consecutive days this fall. He says it won’t be hard to do. “We have so many alumni who are doing amazing things and want to lend a hand.”