Gathering in a casual happy-hour atmosphere, Pacific Oaks hosted its inaugural Alumni + Student Virtual Mixer on Tuesday evening, September 15. The event commenced on Zoom with an instrumental version of the Beatles hit song “Come Together,” which greeted attendees as they logged in.
Miles apart but connected by Pacific Oaks’ values, the mixer attracted 65 alumni, students, faculty, and staff who joined from Oregon, Texas, San Jose, and Los Angeles County.
“We are excited to foster deeper connections with our PO students and graduates,” said Jack Paduntin, president of Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School. “Building community around each other has never been more important,” he added.
The mixer was a collaboration between Student Services, the Office of Advancement, and the Alumni Council, which serves as the governing body of the Alumni Association. Along with other PO grads, such as Alumni Council Officers Carla Michelle (chair), Saul Rios (vice chair), Moises Gomez (engagement chair), and Julia Weyand (secretary), shared how they are using their degrees, establishing new career paths, and offered networking advice to students.
This included PO alumna Aubrey Kliaman, a child development specialist who recently co-authored the children’s book, Covid-19: Let’s Talk About the Plan: A resource to help young children understand the pandemic.
“I really wanted to make a bigger impact in the community,” said Kliaman. She also shared how PO staff, as well as faculty and mentors in her Human Development program, provided strong support throughout her academic and professional journey.
Carla Michelle also had words of advice to offer alumni and students. “I want to encourage you to take the leaps,” said Michelle. After receiving her degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, Michelle created her own coaching and consulting firm, Dr. Carla Inc.
The mixer also featured four speed networking sessions, where attendees were placed in small groups and given a prompt to discuss.
Moises Gomez, who graduated with a degree in Human Development, emphasized the importance of creating relationship maps. “You will often see it used in crime dramas,” he explained. “They have a person’s name and they draw a line [to show the relationship between] one person and connect that relationship to another person.”
He recommends three main components to include in a relationship map: main characteristics of the individual, their skill set, and the industry in which they work.
The mixer concluded with attendees highlighting the advice they learned from others during the final networking session and prompt: “What advice would you give your younger self?”
“Go for the gusto,” shared Dr. Ja Ne’t Rommero, administrative faculty in Academic Affairs. “Go for scholarship. Go for the grant. Go for the position. Be bold,” she shared.
Attendees also echoed the sentiments from Saul Rios surrounding failure. After receiving his B.A. in Human Development and M.A. in Organizational Leadership & Management from Pacific Oaks, a meme he discovered on the internet gave him a newfound perspective about failure. “Fail, [stands for] First Attempt in Learning,” he said. “No is just temporary.”
For more information about student and alumni events and to share your input about future events, email PO Student Affairs [email protected] or [email protected].
If you are looking for a mentor or would like to become a mentor, please visit: http://tiny.cc/PO_Mentorship
To contribute to a student’s academic journey by making a donation, please visit: https://www.pacificoaks.edu/giving/
For more information about Pacific Oaks College, fill out the form below.
