VOLUME 13, NO. 3     June 2001

Networking in New York City

The WPI Alumni Association and the Career Development Center (CDC) teamed up in January to give 55 WPI juniors and seniors a head start on career opportunities in the New York metropolitan area. The students spent a day at a career fair sponsored by Career Conferences of America, which featured representatives from nearly 200 companies with offices in New York, New Jersey and the New England states.

After the fair, the CDC and the Alumni Association hosted a reception and a panel discussion for the students and about a dozen alumni who live and work in New York. Featured speakers Dr. Bruce Minsky ’77 and Gregory Friel ’90 discussed living and working in New York. Minsky, who majored in life sciences at WPI, went on to complete his M.D. at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is vice chairman of radiation oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and professor of radiation oncology at Cornell University Medical College. Friel earned a B.S. in electrical engineering, then joined Morgan Stanley’s Information Technology Group. After earning an MBA at the University of Chicago, he spent two years at Fidelity Investments in Boston. He is currently vice president, Information Technology, Deutsche Bank North America.

"This event was a perfect opportunity for alumni to share their experiences with students and to network with others working in New York City," says Alumni Affairs Director Tina Gorski-Strong ’84. "The response from Bruce and Gregory and from everyone who attended was positive and enthusiastic."

"This was the first of many events the Career Development Center and the Alumni Association can do together," adds CDC Director Yvonne V. Harrison, who notes that several jobs came out of the networking session. "It was very successful and we’d like to extend these opportunities to Washington, D.C., and Boston in the future."

For more about career services for alumni, visit www.wpi.edu/+Alumni.