CST brings alumni back for career advice
Students in the College of Science and Technology will have the chance to get career advice from successful alumni who shared the same lecture halls not too long ago.
"When you have someone who's left Mount Pleasant and found a career, there is that realization for students that if the alums could do it so can they," said Geoff Bartlet, director of development for CST. "That’s what we were hoping in creating this day, is to find some examples of people who are successful that students can strive to."
The college found such examples in Jay Dean and Curt White, two distinguished CMU alumni speakers who will be sharing their career experiences.
Dean, a neuroscientist and biomedical researcher, owes much to CMU and the college. He originally came to the university as a speech and drama major but bounced around between subjects before identifying with research in the Biology Department.
CMU helped him identify his career and turn him toward post graduate work through training on the biological station at Beaver Island.
"CMU was critical in defining the path I am now on," Dean said. "Key faculty members that played a role in that so I found CMU to be a very nurturing and helpful environment."
Dean stayed in touch with CMU in his lengthly post-graduate career at Michigan Tech, Ohio State and several other universities across the nation. Currently a professor at the University of South Florida, he said he was excited to return to Mount Pleasant; he hasn't visited since 1994.
He will be speaking about his research and the ability for young scientists coming through the ranks to drive the field of scientific discovery.
Alumni Day is scheduled to begin 9 a.m. Friday with career preparation workshops. Four workshops lead off, centered around career fairs, options for CST majors, preparing for graduate and professional schools and cleaning up social media.
The day is full of events that take nearly the entire day. At 10 a.m., a roundtable discussion with distinguished alumni will engage in an open discussion about careers in government, non-profit organizations and industry.
After a break, the event continues with a networking reception from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
"It's always a lot of fun for students to meet with alumni because a fair number of them don’t always get back and see the classes for a long time," Bartlet said. "They are amazed at how things have changed but still stayed the same."
The day will be closed by White, who will give lessons from his journey through school, science and business. White is no stranger to speaking at CMU. He was selected as a keynote speaker for May commencement last academic year.
White is the chief technology consultant and president of White IEQ Consulting and has been involved in the research, development, registration and commercialization of antimicrobial agents since 1962. He has served as a teacher and worked at The Dow Chemical Co., and Dow Corning, among others.
