In this episode of The ACSN Podcast, host Michael Steelman interviews two conference sponsors, Wix.com and GoGig on their experience and what they find so valuable about the ACSN way of including sponsors.

Produced in partnership with Alumni FM.

Sabba Quidwai - Wix.com

Melanie Lo - Wix.com

Chris Hodges - GoGig

Collaboration is a non-negotiable

2:48 [Sabba]: ​​ As we think about the future, collaboration is a non-negotiable. And I think the more different partners, whether it's companies, schools, and whatnot begin to come together, I think that's truly how we'll begin to accelerate the change that we hope to see across all of our organizations.

What makes the ACSN community unique

3:14 [Melanie]: I would say that with this group, the kind of generosity and warmth surrounding the sponsorship and just the spirit of the conference is something that is very valuable to me, personally, to see that we are valued for being here, we've been given opportunities to showcase what we do by being here. And just the general group was a real treat to get to be a part of.

Taking sponsorships to the next level/ Connecting with institutions the ACSN way

07:26 [Chris] The uniqueness of the conference really... I didn't come in with any preconceived expectations. Conferences are usually conferences, right? And when you're a vendor, there's this pay-to-play mentality under most circumstances where there's this line of vendors and people will come visit your booth and as much swag as you have is going to attract the vendors to that booth. And that's not really what this was. It surprised me in a pleasant way in that you really took the vendors and the sponsors and injected them into the conference, not really to sell their product, but to engage and talk about why the industry was changing. Breakout sessions, dinner breakouts, getting into smaller groups, where we weren't there really to sell our product, but again, participate in the conversation, talk about why the vertical was changing. What is needed in the space? And just hear from our peers and collect as much information as we can, so we can bake that into our technology, make it better, and then deliver value to our customers. That's really what I felt from the value of how the conference was structured. On the side of encouraging other partners, in the space of career services or alumni, this addresses both. So, it's a great way to get engaged, get connected in an intimate sort of setting with the institutions. 

Today’s professional landscape features altered workplaces and staffing challenges amidst repositioned values and shifting priorities.

ACSN 2022: Charting New Waters for Alumni Career Services aims to address these industry changes, find harbor in mindful solutions, and embark on a new chapter for Alumni Career Services.

Missed ACSN 2022? Here are some highlights!

In this episode of The ACSN Podcast, host Michael Steelman interviews five conference attendees from UCLA, University of Denver, University of Michigan, Northwestern University, and Temple University.

Produced in partnership with Alumni FM.

Gloria Ko - UCLA

Cindy Hyman - University of Denver

Louise Jackson - University of Michigan

Matthew Temple - Northwestern University

Pat Fligge - Temple University

On being a better storyteller

02:22 [Gloria] If anything, I'm taking away just how important the work that we do is when it comes to the value of higher education, and also, how our institutions are showing their value to their students, parents, community, and how important it is for us to have programming and to have a story to tell, so that when our students become alumni, they know that our institutions are valuable and pertinent to their entire life. 

What should you be a part of the ACSN community?

08:58 [Cindy] ACSN is an incredible professional association that will augment their team. It's almost like adding an extra pair of hands to what you're doing. And we're all very lightly resourced. So, mostly teams of one, maybe two. Well, I think a couple of schools have maybe four people that have close to a million alumni. So, we're never resourced very well. And that's okay because we are used to that, but we can look to ACSN to help us build what we can do to scale our programs and to really add that extra pair of hands. I might not have a colleague who I can ask within my university, but I certainly have an entire group of people that are part of this professional association who I reach out to quite regularly when I am looking at doing new things.

Alumni career services go beyond student affairs

10:58 [Louise] The alumni career is an interesting conundrum…. I would say the ACSN community is one that tries to straddle that bridge to say, yes, we are invested in the success of our alumni and, of course, our students, as future alumni. But we also recognize that there's a more comprehensive approach to the work that we do that moves beyond just a student affairs silo.

What makes the conference very valuable?

16:37 [Matthew] One of the things that I love about ACSN is it gets me a little bit outside of my own echo chamber. The MBA meetings are great, but it's really interesting to see what other schools are doing. And that's something I really find very valuable.

Why Pat keeps coming back to ACSN

19:48 [Pat] From a functional perspective, ACSN, they're really my colleagues. These are the people who can really relate to the challenges I'm facing, and oftentimes have the solutions that I'm struggling to find, or that I can workshop through with the folks in ACSN. 

What is the future of education and alumni career services? What changes are coming and how can we prepare for them?

In this episode of The ACSN Podcast, host Michael Steelman interviews two advancement leaders from UCLA and The University of North Texas. They share timely insights and advice for the growing role of alumni career services in higher education.

Produced in partnership with Alumni FM.

Julie Sina - UCLA

Brandon Buzbee - University of North Texas

The role alumni careers and services play in higher education

3:27 [Julie] The alumni career work is really significant in the alumni work that we do because it's all about building community. We talk about building and sustaining relationships with our alumni throughout their lifespan. And the career journey is definitely a big part of that, to really have our alumni own the opportunity to lift up other Bruins within their community, opening the doors to that first job. We tell all of our students at new student orientation, each and every one of you has the opportunity to have an alum. You're part of your alumni community. Serve as a mentor throughout your lifespan, beginning now. Take advantage of that. And especially now, as we see the world that we're emerging into where there's a lot more job changing going on than before, that networking piece and that community engagement piece really is all about alumni career work.

How can higher education's administrative ecosystem be improved?

13:46 [Brandon] I think what is most needed from the administrative ecosystem around higher education is the patience and the commitment to understand what are some of those more longitudinal impacts of quality alumni career service.

Your alumni community will never leave you

15:44 [Julie] Your alumni community is always a part of your life. They may not be active every step of the way, but when you need us, you need that community in your job search. We're here for you. And we also would like you to be here for us when we'd like your engagement with the community that may benefit from your expertise or that door that you may open. So you may leave us, but we will never leave you.

How do you go about building or rebuilding your alumni careers services program?

In this episode of The ACSN Podcast, host Michael Steelman interviews three colleagues from Suffolk University, Vassar College, and Stony Brook University. They share lessons learned from the pre-conference session that can be applied to any program.

Produced in partnership with Alumni FM.

Montgomery Thomas - Suffolk University

Lisa Tessler - Vassar College

Marie Parziale - Stony Brook University

Developing a post-pandemic action plan

05:57 [Marie]: We are completely looking at what we've done and how we're going to do it in the future. We do a really great job of servicing our alum, and we have a really tight connection, the career center and the alumni relations office. But the thing that we really want to build now is our mentoring program. 

On providing networking support to your community

14:23 [Marie] : We brought back our student and alumni networking mixer that we did this past March. We needed to cancel it two years previously, and we had about 200 people in the room. We had 80 alum and about 120 students that came together to network in person. And it was successful. I think for the students, it was exactly what they needed in this, post-pandemic time, for sure. And, it was so successful that we're looking forward to doing one each semester. 

The value of alumni career services in the higher ed community

12:37 [Monty]: I think having the resources and the experience and the support that is needed to really make this successful is definitely a value of the university. So, really looking forward to continuing to work with everything that I have and can utilize with some of the goals and outcomes that we have, not only within our office and also individually for myself, but also at the university, too. 

19:10 [Lisa] : Alumni are the most valuable human resource available to our students. And I think what makes the work of our particular—areas or offices and role within our institution so vital is the ways in which we connect alumni back for the purpose of supporting current students, and where I think students need and want that help most is in their career development.