Making college connections

By reconnecting with former classmates, you can expand your network and enhance both your career and your personal life, writes Jayanti Menches

Carman Chan, Managing Editor, English Street, Hong Kong Economic Times

Catching up with former classmates means more than touching base with your college football team. Making the effort to keep in contact with fellow graduates as they climb the employment ladder generally pays dividends, from shared business know-how to professional contacts that are worth their weight in gold. To enjoy such benefits, all you have to do is join your alumni association.

Alumni associations continue to maintain a steadfast membership worldwide, as college graduates tend to feel a strong kinship with those they have grown up with and continue this relationship long after graduation. However, alumni also have an opportunity to give back to their alma mater. They are encouraged to raise funds for campus programmes, act as mentors for students and new graduates and participate in valuable internship programmes.

Size matters
The demographics of the membership of an alumni organisation depend on the longevity of the university, the types of courses it specialises in and the size of the student population. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) opened its doors in 1991, with 66 degrees awarded to the first graduating class in 1993. The following year, the HKUST Alumni Association was established. Comprised of affiliate alumni associations from several departments, programmes and sports teams, it now boasts over 3,000 members.

However, compared to some long-standing Hong Kong universities, HKUST's association is in its infancy. "This is what makes it unique," says Carman Chan, managing editor of English Street, a Hong Kong Economic Times publication. "We are a very young group. Young enough to have graduates with different majors and graduation years attend the same functions. Since it is a small organisation, everyone is willing to help one another."

Sharing a common bond
Alumni organisations are close-knit and members share a common bond, having graduated from the same institution. They are usually eager to help each other whenever possible - from sharing job leads and professional advice to simply offering social introductions - which makes membership a very valuable commodity.

Ms Chan recommends that graduates participate on two levels. They can simply become members of their alumni organisation and take part in its activities. Otherwise, they can take the step of participating at committee level, which will help build a network more quickly with members from different industries. On the other hand, fresh graduates may want to join a project committee. Even if the project is small, it should give them an opportunity to volunteer their time and get to know all the other committee members.

The HKUST Alumni Association may be young and small, but it conducts a number of programmes for its members, including monthly networking events and community relations projects. Working in close liaison with the university's alumni relations' office, it assists with fundraising campaigns and organises an annual leadership camp every summer for fresh graduates. An online newsletter is also published regularly to keep members apprised of news about each other and the university.

Beyond Hong Kong
With more and more Hong Kong graduates looking to make a career move or relocate overseas, alumni organisations also offer an opportunity to extend your network beyond Hong Kong. "Lots of fresh graduates are thinking of moving to China for work, marriage or postgraduate work," says Ms Chan. "We track our members in China and publish contact information via our electronic newsletter. No matter where alumni are, they can always access our newsletter."

Taken from Career Times 2003/10/10