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GCC Alumni-Pros Converse with Students - over Pizza!

New Series of Wednesday Lunches Designed to Share Work Experience

by Donna Rae Sutherland

Batavia, NY (03/22/2019) — The National Center for Education Statistics estimates 80% of college students in the United States change their majors at least once. Some fall in love with another discipline while taking electives, some experience personal life tragedies or triumphs that inspire new directions, and some just simply didn't know enough about their major when they picked it.

In alignment with its long-standing dedication to student success, Genesee Community College has established a new speaker series called "Pizza with the Pros" to help students make educated decisions about their majors and career aspirations.

GCC's Alumni Affairs office in collaboration with the Student Success Center and AEOC designed "Pizza with the Pros" to tap into GCC's vast pool of successful alumni, identifying experts (Pros) from a variety of industries who would be willing to come to campus and spend time chatting with current students from different majors. During these sessions, the Pros share their journeys from college to career, and answer students' questions about their field.

"The 'Pizza with the Pros' series came about in an effort to expose our students to as much of their individual areas of interest as possible. From new products, events or initiatives, to the mundane tasks of everyday work-these sessions give our students a view of the real world, with real stories from real people they can relate to," said Jennifer Wakefield, assistant director of Alumni Affairs. "Beyond learning, these events present excellent and valuable networking opportunities for both students and alumni."

All events in the "Pizza with the Pros" series are free to GCC students. Each session will begin at 11:30 a.m. and wrap up by 1:30 p.m. in the Student Success Center on GCC's Batavia Campus.

  • Wednesday, March 27, 2019, explore Science and Technology/Information Technology with pros Serena Cooke '92, online learning specialist at GCC and Keith Ward '13, IT administrator at Keuka College.
  • Wednesday, April 3, 2019 explore Health and Physical Education with Beth Felix, GCC Nursing School and Krystal Forsyth, health and physical education educator at Brighton Central School.
  • Wednesday, April 10, 2019 explore Business and Commerce/ Health Care with Missy Marsocci, entrepreneur and Dr. Lina LaMattina, director of Business Programs at GCC.
  • Wednesday, April 17, 2019 explore the Creative Arts with Trace George '95 of VSP Graphic Group and GCC's Alumni Council, and Kim Argenta, owner and artist at Art Ah La Carte.
  • Wednesday, April 24, 2019 explore Law and Criminal Justice with Todd L. Tryon, retired assistant field office director and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Michele M. Kraynik, RN, Esq. the director and professor of Health Administration/School of Business at Roberts Wesleyan College, Benjamin Bonarigo '79, Esq.,GCC Board of Trustees and Alumni Hall of Fame Inductee, and John Michalak, 2019 Alumni Hall of Fame Inductee, retired Batavia police officer, FBI sergeant and United States Army veteran.

"It is our hope that students take advantage of this networking opportunity where they will likely learn some successful strategies across many disciplines," Wakefield added. "And who knows, maybe even some resume sharing will come out of it too."

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