Columbia Athletics Hosts First-Ever Virtual Industry Night
11/10/2020 10:29:00 AM | General
Event attracts 24 companies, organizations, and departments which spend the evening connecting with Columbia student-athletes.
NEW YORK—Columbia University student-athletes attended the first-ever Virtual Industry Night to learn from and connect with alumni and representatives at the fifth annual Columbia Athletics Industry Night series this fall. Hosted by Columbia Athletics' Success Through Well-Being, this semester's event attracted 24 companies, organizations, and departments which connect with the Columbia student-athlete community throughout the evening. Typically held in the Dodge Blue Gym, this year's Industry Night was held virtually over Zoom in response to COVID-19.
Designed to provide a platform for student-athletes to learn more about their industries of interest and to connect with people working at companies across those industries, this year's Columbia Athletics Virtual Industry Night drew an impressive crowd. Student-athletes from all four class years were in attendance, as well as alumni and representatives from 11 industries including aerospace, consulting, fellowships, finance, insurance, law, marketing, public relations, sports, sports/education, and tech. Represented organizations included, AIG, Barclays Investment Bank, BNP Paribas, Brown Advisory, Brown Brothers Harriman, Citi, Columbia University Preprofessional Advising, Deloitte, DKC, Goldman Sachs, Google, HSBC, Kansas City Chiefs, NASA, GISS, NFL, Northwestern Mutual, PacificPine Sports, Peak 6, Rokt, Salesforce, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Supreme Court NY, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Trilantic Capital Partners.
Each organization was provided with its own Zoom meeting room link for the evening. During the event, student-athletes were able to stop by all "virtual tables" that were of interest to them to network with professionals and learn about various industries and opportunities available.
Alumni and student-athletes alike remarked that having career events specific to the Columbia Athletics community created a more comfortable and enjoyable environment for networking.
"As a student and now an alum I find Industry Nights both refreshing and invigorating," noted Zach Morant '18CC Men's Soccer. "It was a lot of fun trading work from home stories and sharing my career experiences, which I hope helped as many students as possible. It's amazing to see how committed so many current student-athletes are despite the complexities of their remote education and canceled seasons—I came away from Industry Night impressed and a little inspired. It's been tough keeping in touch in this environment but Columbia Athletics did a great job connecting students with alumni, and I look forward to the next event!"
"Virtual Industry Night is a way for us to be able to learn and connect with those in different industries," commented Tiffany Bautista '23CC Women's Track and Field. "Although it may seem intimidating, I was able to use this night as a way to expand my knowledge on the different fields I was interested in. The guidance and insight from the alumni were very helpful and because many of them were student-athletes they were able to provide a unique perspective about transitioning into the workforce."
"As a new transfer student at Columbia the student-athlete alumni community has impressed me beyond words," remarked Allison Brecher '23CC Women's Soccer. "I cannot express my gratitude for how helpful and willing alumni have been to assist me in my postgraduate path. As former student-athletes, they understand the challenges many of us face and are extremely happy to share their experiences and insights on the best ways to accomplish whatever your goals may be. Despite being online, Industry Night was able to connect me with alumni who work in my interested field and provide me a greater understanding of potential career opportunities."
Designed to provide a platform for student-athletes to learn more about their industries of interest and to connect with people working at companies across those industries, this year's Columbia Athletics Virtual Industry Night drew an impressive crowd. Student-athletes from all four class years were in attendance, as well as alumni and representatives from 11 industries including aerospace, consulting, fellowships, finance, insurance, law, marketing, public relations, sports, sports/education, and tech. Represented organizations included, AIG, Barclays Investment Bank, BNP Paribas, Brown Advisory, Brown Brothers Harriman, Citi, Columbia University Preprofessional Advising, Deloitte, DKC, Goldman Sachs, Google, HSBC, Kansas City Chiefs, NASA, GISS, NFL, Northwestern Mutual, PacificPine Sports, Peak 6, Rokt, Salesforce, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Supreme Court NY, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Trilantic Capital Partners.
Each organization was provided with its own Zoom meeting room link for the evening. During the event, student-athletes were able to stop by all "virtual tables" that were of interest to them to network with professionals and learn about various industries and opportunities available.
Alumni and student-athletes alike remarked that having career events specific to the Columbia Athletics community created a more comfortable and enjoyable environment for networking.
"As a student and now an alum I find Industry Nights both refreshing and invigorating," noted Zach Morant '18CC Men's Soccer. "It was a lot of fun trading work from home stories and sharing my career experiences, which I hope helped as many students as possible. It's amazing to see how committed so many current student-athletes are despite the complexities of their remote education and canceled seasons—I came away from Industry Night impressed and a little inspired. It's been tough keeping in touch in this environment but Columbia Athletics did a great job connecting students with alumni, and I look forward to the next event!"
"Virtual Industry Night is a way for us to be able to learn and connect with those in different industries," commented Tiffany Bautista '23CC Women's Track and Field. "Although it may seem intimidating, I was able to use this night as a way to expand my knowledge on the different fields I was interested in. The guidance and insight from the alumni were very helpful and because many of them were student-athletes they were able to provide a unique perspective about transitioning into the workforce."
"As a new transfer student at Columbia the student-athlete alumni community has impressed me beyond words," remarked Allison Brecher '23CC Women's Soccer. "I cannot express my gratitude for how helpful and willing alumni have been to assist me in my postgraduate path. As former student-athletes, they understand the challenges many of us face and are extremely happy to share their experiences and insights on the best ways to accomplish whatever your goals may be. Despite being online, Industry Night was able to connect me with alumni who work in my interested field and provide me a greater understanding of potential career opportunities."
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