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Rachel Dragoy ’19 and Brendan Ginn ’19 both attended NYC CONNECT when they were seniors at Binghamton University—and both saw such value in it that they quickly jumped at the opportunity to host current students for Employer Treks this January.
NYC CONNECT, held annually in Manhattan (although interrupted by the pandemic), consists of a Networking Night for Students and Alumni sponsored by the Office of Alumni Engagement and a series of Employer Treks held throughout the week at employer sites in New York . The transitions are organized by the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development, in partnership with the School of Management Career Services, Watson Career and Alumni Connections, Harpur Edge, College of Community and Public Affairs Career and Intercultural Services and Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
278 students participated in the university’s flagship networking event on Monday, January 9, at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel in New York, meeting with 110 alumni representing a wide variety of industries and professions. NYC Employer Treks, held January 9-13 at 24 New York-based employers, provided 140 students with valuable opportunities to enhance their professional education, explore different work environments and industries, learn about career opportunities, network and expand their professional activity networks.
A typical Employer Trek lasts two hours and consists of an employer presentation and information session, an employee panel, a company tour, open question and answer time, and an opportunity to network with alumni and other professionals.
“Our alumni are such a valuable resource for our current students,” said Lindsey Murtland, senior associate director of employer engagement and partnerships at the Fleishman Career Center. “When our students begin their career exploration, alumni best represent the types of roles and opportunities available to students for internships or full-time positions. We strive to include alumni in NYC CONNECT because they can provide specific advice to students based on their personal experiences at Binghamton University.”
Dragoy and Geen were two of the alumni invited by Cathy Boyce, assistant director of student employment at the Fleishman Career Center, to participate as an Employer Trek site. For Dragoy, now an associate in bank coverage and investment banking at Crédit Agricole Corporate Investment Bank, saying yes was a no-brainer.
“I absolutely think it’s important to have a strong alumni network for students, and organizing a walk is another way alumni can be a resource for students,” she said. “I’m happy to do it in any way I can to give back to Binghamton.”
After transferring to Binghamton University, Dragoy was nervous about starting in the School of Management (SOM) as a business administration major with a concentration in finance. She hadn’t had much luck with career services at her previous institution. She was immediately impressed by the Fleishman Career Center’s breadth of services and focus on the student experience.
“I was routinely at the Fleishman Career Center and I tried to use it as much as I could,” she said. “The Center was an invaluable resource for me as a student, and I think it still is for students in the School of Management.
“I went there for peer and professional career advice, CV advice and review and mock interviews,” added Dragoy. “Helped me build my confidence, attention to detail, speaking and other communication skills and overall professionalism.”
Geen, who is currently a program manager in Google’s engineering compliance team focused on M&A projects, also benefited from the Fleishman Career Center as a student. Also a SOM student, he is majoring in business administration with a concentration in finance and management information systems and benefits from general services such as resume screening and mock interviews. He also participated in the Connections for Success retreat during his sophomore year and then mentored a student in his junior and senior years.
“The Fleishman Career Center is really good at articulating how what you learn in school starting in your freshman year will be applicable to your first job, your second job, etc.,” Gean said. “They also helped shape my extracurricular experiences as professionally relevant. For example, I was involved in the management of the TedX program. It’s not directly related to the cybersecurity consulting job I took after school, but, believe it or not, it was actually what I talked about for more than half of my first interview at Deloitte.”
Geen also found Employer Treks invaluable and ended up working as a cyber risk consultant at Deloitte, one of the employers he visited during transition.
“Actually walking into an office and seeing what a consulting role would look like was valuable,” Gean said. “It’s interesting that even though there are 20,000 people working in this office, you’ll only see about 500 people here. It’s good to know that when I apply for this job, I won’t be in the office—I’ll be awake, moving, traveling. Direct exposure to where I would be working is probably the best way as a student, outside of the internship, to really understand the culture of where I would be working.”
Geen’s current job at Google is also a result of the unique perspectives he gained on trips to employers like Facebook and Spotify. As a business student — not a software engineer or computer scientist — he never thought about working in technology.
“I always assumed that in tech those were the only roles,” Geen said. “But it was very interesting to go on that office visit and hear from program managers, sales, operations, HR, finance. It showed me that these giant companies still have all the functions, so it opened my eyes to the possibility of a career in technology.”
Gene was eager to welcome current students to his workplace and pass on the immediate access to potential employers he gained as a student. Dragoy also recalled being in the shoes of current Binghamton students and said the Employer Treks and the overall NYC CONNECT experience was one of the highlights of the year for her.
“It gave us an insight into the organizations,” she said. “You’re really on the inside, talking to people about their daily lives and what they’re doing. And the employers that participated were really large firms and some small firms, so that gave me some perspective – do I want to be in a large, medium or small firm? Where do I fit in? It helped me decide where I would like to apply at the end of my senior year.”
Dragoy and Geen see participation as mutually beneficial for students and employers.
“I know how much it meant to me,” Gean said, “so I wanted to carry on that tradition and pass it on to the current students. Binghamton is a phenomenal school with great students, and I would love to see more of them at Google.”
“The partnership with Binghamton University is also valuable for Crédit Agricole CIB,” said Dragoy, “as it increases our visibility in recruiting efforts. After Cathy reached out, I said, “That’s a win-win.” I know the past few years have been challenging for students. I was the last graduating class before the pandemic. It’s great that we finally get to be in person again to make those connections.”
Binghamton University is always looking to add more organizations to NYC CONNECT. If you are interested in hosting a future trip, contact the Fleishman Career Center at citycnct@binghamton.edu.
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