On Saturday March 7th, Ohio Theta hosted its first Professional Development Day. The event took place at the University’s 1819 Innovation Center; a new space for students to plan, develop, and execute ideas, whether it be business or engineering related. Here distinguished alumni came back to Cincinnati in order to host talks with upperclassmen in Epsilon and Brother Mentor challenges. They discussed a wide variety of professional topics including, but not limited to: maximizing campus involvement for a fast career start, career planning, applied leadership, and entrepreneurship and taking risk.
A wide array of Ohio Theta alumni attended the event. These brothers ranged from recent graduates, all the way to C Suite level executives. Not only did this provide a chance for alumni of all ages to connect with the current undergrads, it gave the undergrads a chance to experience many different professional perspectives. It also provided a tremendous networking opportunity for a large number of different career paths.
Throughout the day, different sessions were held with the alumni to hear their stories, advice, and mistakes. As men not only graduating soon, but students looking for potential internships/co-op experiences before they graduate, this advice was tremendously helpful. The alumni provided guidance and insights on topic from applied leadership and career planning to working in teams, networking, and innovation.
The event was intended to bring alumni and upper classman brothers in small groups, creating an opportunity for interaction and building relationships between brothers from different eras. The topics provided a valuable experience for the upper classman brothers, and also provided an encouraging experience for the alumni. These brothers were able to come back to their college, and share their love and passion with men who are looking to establish themselves in those fields. Following the professional development event, alumni visited the chapter home to see the latest renovations.
Going forward, Ohio Theta plans to continue to host this event at least annually, possibly even hosting this event bi-annually. This experience has been the first big step in truly creating more beneficial programming for older brothers. These types of events give members of our chapter reasons to continue to be active in their pursuit of becoming SigEp Balanced Men. Any alumni who are interested in potentially helping out with this event in the future, please reach out to AVC President, Rey Medina,
The event was held at the University’s newly opened 1819 Innovation Center. The 1819 Innovation center is a newly renovated space with the purpose of bringing students, industry and academia to create innovation and job opportunities including creating start-ups and business plans. The Innovation center provides access to a materials shop, 3-D printing, laser cutting, and design and planning spaces. This space provides an experience unavailable anywhere else, and Ohio Theta hopes to continue to utilize it to its fullest extent with future events.
Thank you to all of our alumni who took the time and effort to come back to Cincinnati for this special event! The names of the alumni who attended/participated are: Mike Taney, Zach Bryson, Judd Weis, Matt Batchler, Matt Glahn, Brandon Trame, Bert Bullock, Luke Gromen, and Neehar Swali.