April 24, 2009
For the second month in a row St. John’s alumni gathered to
network, reminisce and reconnect over cocktails and appetizers. The
Happy Hour Series is the brainchild of the 30 member Young Alumni
Committee who are striving to plan events that will interest alumni
and keep them connected to St. John’s after graduation. Judging
from the packed house at Calico Jack’s Cantina they are on target.
73 alumni and 20 friends packed the Cantina with Red Storm
pride.
Photo Gallery
“The turnout tonight is great,” said Elisa Douglas '05C,
Assistant Director of Student and Young Alumni Engagement for the
Office of Alumni Relations. “We have more alumni than last time and
hopefully we will continue to build. I’m really happy that our
alumni are responding to these events.”
The event’s convenient location and enticing complimentary first
cocktail and appetizers drew many alumni who admitted this was
their first St. John’s event since graduation. Friends Adelyn Ruiz
'03CPS, Jason Lopez '03CPS and Michael Graffeo '03CPS, '05TCB
agreed that convenience was a big factor in their attendance. “This
is great for people who work in the city,” said Graffeo. “Getting
back to Queens can be difficult during the week, but this is close
to my job and on my way home.” Ruiz, who still makes time for
community service events with the University usually only has time
to attend the Christmas Concert annually. “There is not always
enough time to get back to St. John’s,” she said.” I really miss
the people. This happy hour and the last let me see people I
haven’t talked to since graduation. I know I’m going to keep
coming.” Lopez added, “St. John’s has found a way to tap into what
alums are already doing and I think that’s great. Most of us go to
happy hour anyway; tonight the first drink was just on St. John’s.
I’m looking forward to the future events.”
Brendan Phalen '00MBA came to network with his fellow alumni
after seeing the event on LinkedIn. “Events like these are a great
way to tap into the St. John’s network whether you are looking for
a job or not,” says Phalen. “St. John’s is New York’s marquee
school and so many people in the metro area are alumni, but we end
up finding each other by accident.” Phalen is hoping that events
like these will lead to more opportunities for alumni to connect in
person and in cyber space. “I’m looking forward to St. John’s
creating an interactive alumni site but I think it’s great to find
them on the St. John’s Facebook and LinkedIn pages. They replace
the alumni directories and the information is current.” Susan
Strong '99MBA who works with the Career Center and sits on The
Peter J. Tobin College of Business Alumni Board also came to
network. “Tonight has far exceeded my expectations. There are just
so many alums.” Strong was the night’s most social alumnae
collecting over 25 business cards and even introducing alumni with
similar interests. “I found one of my first jobs after graduation
by attending a St. John’s event,” she said. “Hopefully others can
do the same, especially in this economy. I just introduced an
alumnus whose company is hiring to another who is looking for work.
I don’t know if it’s a good fit but it’s a start.”
Douglas was pleased to see how many alumni were exchanging
information “Providing a relaxing atmosphere for alums to connect
with St. John’s and each other is why we have these events,” she
noted. “We are going to continue to plan events that we hope speak
to our alumni and I’m hoping to see even more people out to next
month’s Bowl-a-rama.”