News Detail
CONNECT on Campus Opens Maroon Network to Students
The first-ever EHS Connect on Campus event welcomed 39 alumni spanning five decades back to The Holy Hill on the Friday of Spirit Week to engage with the student body in a full day of informational sessions, discussions on work and life, and some valuable networking opportunities.
Veterans Day Chapel Service
The schedule began with a special chapel service honoring Veterans Day. Guest speaker Maj. Matt Kirwan '00 addressed the School community on the origins of Armistice Day and its evolution to Veterans Day. He shared with them his own motives for choosing to serve his country and some of the sacred traditions of celebrating the day in the Marine Corps. He noted that, in a few short months, the youngest members of the military will have been born in the 21st Century.
The schedule began with a special chapel service honoring Veterans Day. Guest speaker Maj. Matt Kirwan '00 addressed the School community on the origins of Armistice Day and its evolution to Veterans Day. He shared with them his own motives for choosing to serve his country and some of the sacred traditions of celebrating the day in the Marine Corps. He noted that, in a few short months, the youngest members of the military will have been born in the 21st Century.
“We will be passing our Corps’ values of honor, courage, and commitment to citizens like yourselves,” Maj. Kirwan said. “America and the world will be looking for your leadership, for integrity, and for a commitment to principles beyond self.”
Following his speech, the names of veterans submitted by those in the EHS community were recognized. (Watch the service and Maj. Kirwan’s talk on LocalLive - Register for free)
Kickoff Speaker
Following the chapel service, students transitioned to Pendleton Hall for a speech by David Kagulu-Kalema '10. Kalema joined Endeavor in 2015, a company focused on identifying, mentoring, and supporting entrepreneurship worldwide. He shared with the students his own journey from Episcopal, through Amherst, and into the business world where he has sought to develop and utilize his interests in both economics and sociology.
In particular Kalema noted two things most valuable in his career path: “asking questions and social capital.” He said his current job is in large part about creating connections and building social capital between entrepreneurs in other, often third-world, countries, and potential investors and angel donors in other locations.
“It’s important to know that here at Episcopal, you’re only scratching the surface of what you can become,” he said. (Watch Kalema’s speech on LocalLive - Register for free)
Career Conversations and Senior Meet & Greet
After the kickoff speech, the visiting alumni welcomed interested students into smaller group classroom settings for sessions before and after lunch. The alumni offered presentations, opened discussions, and answered questions from students about their professional careers and fields.
“I'm always struck by how worldly and connected Episcopal students are, but this time around I was blown away,” said Paul Blake '10, a journalist with BBC News, who noted that both of his sessions ran late due to the level of engagement and discussion. ”The campus has become even more open and diverse, and the level of thought, questioning, and debate is even higher than when I was there.”
Senior Julian Gu was particularly impressed with the session offered by Barbara Bai '08, who works as a statistician at Harvard Medical School.
“I enjoyed Ms. Bai’s session because her job aligns well with my interest in data science, and she even introduced me to an alumnus of EHS whose career is even more similar to what I want to do in the future,” Gu said. “I have contacted both of them and quickly received really good feedback from them regarding what I could be doing as extracurricular activity to expand my interest in artificial intelligence.”
Following those sessions, the Class of 2018 was invited to meet the alumni participants in Stewart for opportunities to connect on a more personal, one-on-one level, and the result was a building more packed with network connections than an IBM server room.
A full list of the alumni attendees who volunteered for CONNECT on Campus is available here.
For more photos from CONNECT on Campus, visit the Maroon & Black Flickr album.
