ENACT Alumni Networking Night
April 22, 2025
Although most students will only take one or two ENACT courses during their undergraduate education, the ENACT network exists well beyond a singular semester course. To help students connect with each other and learn more about graduate and professional opportunities after college, ENACT held an Alumni Networking Night on April 22nd.
The night was structured as a panel discussion featuring five former ENACT students who are now working in a variety of fields, including education, government, and finance. The panelists were Myeisha Boyd, a 2017 graduate of the University of Hartford and former ENACT student delegate, now working as the Assistant Vice President of Numisma Bank; and Brandeis alumni Jonathan Goldman '19, Executive Director of the Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice; Brenna Pearlstein '24, Deputy Communications Director in the Office of New York State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin; Ravi Simon '19, Legislative Aide to Massachusetts State Representative Carmine Gentile, and Chair of the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School Committee; and Alaina Vermilya '24, Associate Teacher at Brooke Charter Schools and an ENACT Student Delegate.
Vermilya also moderated the discussion, prompting the panelists to share their experiences finding jobs after undergrad and how their time with ENACT has helped them beyond their academics.
Although the alumni were all at different points in their careers and lives, they all shared how their course work gave them valuable skills that served them within and outside of policy work.
Boyd shared early on that the elevator speech component of her course work has served her in a multitude of ways. Being able to communicate a point in a concise but impactful way is a skill that benefited her even in her transition from the public to the private sector.
Now, as she is working in banking, Boyd shared how although she doesn’t use the hard skills taught in her advocacy course as much, it taught her the value of networking. Now, having been in the work force, she shared that students shouldn’t hesitate to “reach out to people cold on Linkedin. If you see someone doing something cool that you’re really interested in, slide into their Linkedin DMs.”
The other panelists echoed similar sentiments about the confidence they gained from their ENACT course to put themselves out there. Simon pointed out that reaching out and networking is essential because “80% of jobs in politics aren’t even listed anywhere.”
When asked to provide a final piece of advice to the students on the call, the panelists shared valuable knowledge for any undergrad, whether or not they would like to go into a public advocacy career.
For Goldman, it is essential that students find their community outside of work. Simon advised people to think not just about what sector they would like to work in but to think critically about what they would actually like their day-to-day responsibilities to look like. As a final word of encouragement, Pearlstein told everyone on the call to “just do it!”
At the end of the night, the panelists encouraged every student to connect with them if they had any future questions or wanted to talk further about their career goals.