Ascend NY Metro: Student Mentoring Program – Speed Networking Event – Nov 2012

OnNovember10^th. 2012, Ascend Metro NY and Deloitte hosted a speed networking event for the participants in the Ascend FY2012-2013 Student Mentoring Program. More than 30 professionals and students attended the event at Deloitte’s 1633 Broadway office. The event also included managers' tips on mentoring and networking,elevator speech preparation, and networking session for all attendees.

Catherine Yang, Deloitte Tax Senior Manager, shared her insights at the event on how to establish long and sustainable mentoring relationships. She encouraged both students and young professionals to seek mentorship from experienced personnel in and outside of their academic/professional environment. She also mentioned that even for experienced professionals, including her, are still improving their overall leadership and interpersonal skills through mentoring relationships.

Danny Wang, Deloitte Audit Senior Manager, shared his view pointson networking at the event. He provided tips on how to follow up with people and maintain relationships. He also encouraged young professionals and students to develop long term plans for their professional and personal growth.

During the speed networking section, students and professionals were paired up to work on students' elevator speeches. Each student had 3 minutes to summarize his/her personal backgrounds and highlight establishments. Professionals then provided structured feedback based on the students’ speeches. Students then rotated onto the next professional and continued to practice their speeches. Students enjoyed the opportunities to better polish their elevator speeches at the event and they agreed that professionals’ feedback on thestrengthand weakness of the speeches can sharpen their speeches.

The event was concluded with a networking session. Students and professionals enjoyed refreshments and food while networking with other attendees.

A special thank you to Deloitte for sponsoring and hosting the event.

We also would like to thank everyone who has assisted in organizing the event.