As you may know, all Stern clubs are student led. This is a great because it not only gives the student body a say in how to set up clubs and organizations to best serve their needs, but it also gives students the ability to practice their leadership skills and develop their abilities as managers.
As an MBA1 you can apply for roles on student club boards — for example, last year, I applied and was selected to be AVP of Alumni Relations for EMTA–our Entertainment, Media, and Technology club. Throughout the year I was trained to take over the club leadership position as Vice President of Alumni Events in my second year.
So this year I have been sitting on the board, enjoying the experience, and have recently hired my own “AVP” who I will, in turn, train to take over the spot for me next year when I graduate. One of my primary goals as Vice President of Alumni Events this year (along with the help of the AVP) was to organize and facilitate the “EMTA Alumni Roundtable.”
This event, which happened just over a week ago, invites Stern alumni who are working in the EMT space to come back to campus, meet informally with students hoping to work in these industries, and have a drink and snacks on Stern. We had alumni from some really impressive companies this year: Facebook, Spotify, NBC, Verizon, WWE, U.S. Tennis Association, The New York Times, and many others.
It was definitely a lot to coordinate, as our Alumni have busy schedules, but it all turned out to be a remarkably successful event. As you can see from the picture above, alumni spoke to students at small tables for 20-30 minutes, in three rounds, then everyone split up for some general networking around the open bar.
The feedback has all been very positive! Hopefully this will lead to some of our MBA1s getting an internship, or at least getting some really positive and productive networking opportunities.
This is just one example of how the student leadership organizes club events. Other events, like treks, speakers, conferences, et al happen in very similar ways. It’s definitely a fair amount of work but very rewarding when it all goes off without a hitch…