2021-2022
On behalf of the Hiatt Career Center and the Rise Together Mentor Network, we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our 2021-2022 volunteers. We are simply blown away by the support and dedication of our alumni, parents, and the entire Brandeis community!
While Brandeisians continued to navigate the ups and downs of hybrid learning, Hiatt focused on developing innovative and comprehensive engagement strategies to meet the increasingly complex needs of our students.
We continued to flex our creative muscles, offering new and exciting virtual programming, and even some in-person recruiting and networking events. We prioritized creating more in-depth, meaningful opportunities for our volunteers to connect directly with students and are excited to find the balance between in-person and virtual career development in the year ahead.
Below you will find highlights from 2021-2022, as well as some exciting things to come. Thank you again to our amazing volunteers - we are so grateful for the strength of the Brandeis network!
Hiatt Updates
Like many organizations, 2021-2022 was a year of change for Hiatt. Most notably, the launch of our new External Engagement team.
The mission? To integrate Hiatt’s employer relations strategy and alumni engagement efforts to build a robust and comprehensive recruiting operation that provides unique and measurable value to students, alumni, employers, faculty, and other campus partners.
Alumni as Volunteers
Brandeisians have forged successful careers across all sectors and students are always eager to learn from someone that has been in their shoes. By hosting workshops, participating in recruiting opportunities, and making one-on-one connections, alumni contributions have a meaningful impact on Brandeis students.
Alumni Mentors
Launched in early 2021, Rise Together is the virtual space for Brandeis students to connect with alumni mentors. Hosted on the Brandeis community platform, BConnect, Rise Together is similar to LinkedIn, but its users are solely made up of Brandeisians who have opted in to participate.
The Rise Together Mentor Network turns 1!
As we reflect back on the program’s first year, we are so incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish. Enabling students to search for alumni by industry, affinity group, Brandeis involvement, and more, has truly changed the way we think about networking. By empowering students to make connections specific to their background and current mentoring needs, Rise Together has created a space for students to strengthen their relationship-building skills while unlocking the power of the Brandeis network.
We are grateful to all who helped year 1 become a success and look forward to refining and growing this incredibly important program in the year ahead!
Spotlight: Deis Dinner
In 2021, we hosted our first annual Deis Dinner. This in-person networking event brought together first and second year students, most of whom had never experienced in-person networking, with alumni volunteers representing various industries of interest.
Throughout dinner, we watched in awe as students embarked on this new experience. Seeing alumni so generously share their expertise with students, reinforced the importance of practicing networking in a safe, supportive, learning-focused environment.
The feedback from both alumni and student attendees was overwhelmingly positive, securing Deis Dinner’s place as a signature Hiatt event and model for future alumni-student connections.
Looking Ahead: External Engagement at Hiatt
In August 2022, we completed the hiring and onboarding of our new External Engagement team focused on developing opportunities for career education, networking and recruiting.
Moving forward this expanded team will work to formalize a new employer relations strategy, continue to expand campus recruiting, deepen and expand alumni champions, and continue to cultivate opportunities for students of color.
Contact Us
The Hiatt Career Center works with undergraduate students and alumni of undergraduate programs at Brandeis. Reach out to a member of our External Engagement Team to discuss engagement opportunities.
“Thank you for volunteering in so many different ways this past year! The powerful Brandeis Alumni Network is one the greatest assets to our undergraduate students and we've seen just how eager they are to connect and learn from your expertise. We hope you will spread the word among your fellow Brandeisians about how meaningful your experiences have been.”
Jon Schlesinger, Director of the Hiatt Career Center