First-Ever CNY Career Connections Unites Students and Alumni

Oswego Alumni Association Board Member Rick Yacobush ’77 encouraged students to network with other people during the first-ever Central New York (CNY) Career Connections Oct. 5 at the SUNY Oswego Metro Center in Syracuse.

Yacobush, the event’s keynote speaker, retraced the major connections he made throughout his career that led him to his current role as iHeartMedia Syracuse market president. Many of those stemmed from SUNY Oswego faculty or alumni.

“Tonight is all about making connections,” he said. “Take a deep breath. Shake some hands. Network. Grab a business card. Have some fun.”

Modeled after the OAA’s popular annual NYC Career Connections, the event featured alumni from a variety of CNY employers who spoke informally withstudents about their career, how they got to their current position, the job search process and the upsides and downsides of living in the region.

Emily Pease ’16, president of the Future Alumni Network, opened the event by introducing Yacobush and describing some of the student programs sponsored by the Oswego Alumni Association, with support from The Fund for Oswego.

While it was not a job fair, some alumni shared information about openings at their company or discussed how a student might prepare for a job in their field. A dozen or so alumni spoke with the mostly junior and senior students in attendance.

Among them was meteorology major Ashante McLeod-Perez ’17 of Manlius, N.Y. She recently returned from an internship in California. While she wouldn’t mind returning out west, she said she would
stay in Central New York if she could find a job here.

“We hope the attendees at the event made some initial connections to each other, and that those connections lead to opportunities down the road,” said event organizer Stephanie Lamb ’07, associate director of alumni and parent relations. “Our network of 85,000-plus loyal alumni is one of the best benefits of being a SUNY Oswego graduate. We hope our alumni and students can use events like this to leverage those Oswego connections to their fullest potential.”

Meteorology major Ashante McLeod-Perez ’17 spoke with Kara Vormwald ’15, host producer at WBNG Channel 12 in Binghamton and a Graduates Of the Last Decade Leadership Council member, during the first-ever CNY Career Connections Oct. 5 at the SUNY Oswego Metro Center in Syracuse.