2017 Event Report

The Chemistry Graduate Student Professional Development Organizations, CSIE|UM (Chemical Science at the Interface of Education at UM) and CALC|UM (Chemistry Aligned with Life and Career at UM), hosted the 3rd Annual Alumni Reception on Thursday, August 3rd from 12 noon to 6 pm, in advance of the Karle Symposium the following day.

The day began with an Alumni Panel from 12-1:30pm on the broad topic of “How Michigan Prepared You for the Future.” The panelists including Zachary Buchan – Research Chemist at Dow AgroScience, Betsy Brown-Tseng – Research Chemist at PPG, Sethu Pitchiaya – Research Investigator at UM Department of Pathology, and Beth Kubitskey – Associate Dean at EMU. The event drew more than 60 graduate students eager to ask questions of the alumni about their experiences and expertise. In response to how UM uniquely prepared them for their careers today, panelists discussed benefitting from the department’s state of the art research opportunities, the help from office and support staff, the collaborative environment, and the opportunities for outreach and presentation.

Then, from 2-4pm, a Mock Speed Interviewing Session was conducted for senior graduate students to interact with alumni in both academic and industrial jobs. The event allowed graduate students to get experience and feedback on their job interviewing skills from alumni, some of whom are the industrial recruiters they will be meeting with later in the semester. Alumni from academic positions at EMU and UM participated along with alumni from industrial positions at BMS, Merck, Dow, and PPG.

The Alumni Reception began at 4 pm in the Radical Room of the Chemistry building. Light hors d’oeuvres, delicious desserts, and various refreshments were provided to welcome the alumni to a reception to mix, mingle, and network with former lab members, advisors, and current graduate students. The alumni, graduate students, and professors involved had a wonderful time catching up and telling stories.

Source: https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/calc-um/2017/08/09/aug32017alum/