The evening event, organized by Merrimack’s alumni office and its O’Brien Center for Student Success, was “a great opportunity to bring graduates together from the Boston area in order to learn more about networking and help foster a closeness with the college,” said Boyce ’81, managing director and head of U.S. distribution for Standard Life Investments.
“I find that, very often, professionals lean heavily on their own individual abilities in order to succeed,” he said. “The power of networking can be overlooked.”
The gathering, the latest in a series of career-focused events for young Merrimack alumni, is part of the continuum of services offered through the O’Brien Center in a commitment to ensure student and alumni success. In a recent survey, 98 percent of the college’s 2013 graduates reported being employed or in graduate school.
Amanda Simeone ’08, an account executive at Creative Office Pavilion in Boston, said joining the event was “a great step for me to jump out of my comfort zone, but also to have the encouragement of other alumni while doing it.”
The tips on building an online brand, said Simeone, were “especially helpful for me, as I’m in a new role with my company and will be reaching out to clients.”
She said the event left her “feeling optimistic about the new connections I made and my future in the networking world.”
Boyce said teaching young people the power of networking is vital to furthering their professional lives.
“For many successful people there needs to be a balance between the talents that you bring to a career and the ability to build your reputation by fostering relationships across your organization and industry,” he said. “This can only help to open new doors as your career progresses.”
