Engage with Students

The Office of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving brings alumni together to offer students mentorship, career guidance, and networking opportunities. These connections strengthen the alumni network while encouraging lifelong engagement, fostering a spirit of giving back, and benefiting both personal and professional growth.

GW Career Connect

GW Career Connect is a global and diverse online community that enables undergraduate and graduate students from all GW schools and class years to seek career guidance and professional development from alumni volunteers. Alumni can also utilize the platform to grow their own professional networks. In addition to direct access to alumni professionals, GW Career Connect includes a jobs board, over 20 industry and affinity communities, and information on career paths.

Sign-up, create a profile, set your connection and availability preferences, and respond to student and alumni requests.

Join GW Career Connect

Our informal networking events are a blend of in-person and/or virtual and offer GW students an opportunity to build connections with members of the alumni community and learn from their experiences.

Host a Coffee with Students

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The Revolutionary Conversations: Coffee with Alumni program connects alumni with current GW students looking for professional development and to explore their academic and career interests. Taking the time to connect with students creates a lasting impact. We encourage conversations about campus and community activities, field(s) of study, current professional role, and career selection and progression. Alumni coffee hosts represent a range of industries and interests, and are in various stages of their careers.

The Office of Alumni Relations will market the event to students through a variety of channels on campus and registration will be taken through GW Handshake. Students apply for each event and are selected by our team. Information about the students will be shared with hosts in advance of the event.

Additional information about the program is available below. If you have any questions, please contact the student [dot] alumnigwu [dot] edu (program coordinator).

Apply to be a host

Event Format

• A coffee can last for anywhere between 45-90 minutes depending on the number of students attending and the conversation.
• We encourage conversations about your campus and community activities, field(s) of study, current professional role, and your career selection and progression.
• This is meant to be an informal networking experience providing an opportunity for GW students to build connections and learn from your experiences.
• Students are asked to research your employer and prepare questions to ask during the event.
• They are expected to share what information they would like to learn, initiate conversation, and gather information about the host’s experiences in a particular career path.
• Students are reminded that this is not a time to ask for a job with your organization.

Recommended Questions and Agenda

Sample questions for students:

• What are you hoping to gain from this conversation?
• How did you decide on your major? What career are you hoping to pursue?
• Have you held any internships and how did it shape your potential career path?
• How are you building a professional network?
• Are you taking advantage of resources on campus?  If so, what have you learned?

Sample agenda for the event:

• 10 minutes – Host & student introductions
• 25 minutes – Host shares regarding GW experience, career path & current industry
• 25 minutes – Student questions; Refer to the questions above if the conversation lulls

Location Recommendations

• If held in person, events are typically held on weekdays between September through April. The program coordinator will need at least 10 business days to promote and recruit for the event.
• The host is expected to select a location. The best locations are metro-accessible and/or near campus (making it easier for students to attend). You can review our recommendations for coffee shops here.
• If held virtually, sessions will be held via GW Zoom. The program coordinator will set up the GW Zoom call for the event and provide information to attend for the host and attendees.
• During official university breaks, events can be held in other cities where there is a high concentration of students if there is interest.

Student Registration Process

• Students must register through GW HandShake, a career and event focused platform managed by the GW Center for Career Services.
• Students are required to answer three questions during the application process to assess their interest and suitability for the event.
• Staff within the Office of Alumni Relations & Annual Giving will review all applications and make selections based on your industry, school, on-campus organizations and/or any specific requests from the host.
• Information about students will be shared with the host prior to the event via email. 

Policies

• Your payment for an in-person coffee will be considered a gift-in-kind to the university once your itemized receipt is submitted to the program coordinator.
• Alcohol is not permitted at events whether or not the students are 21 years of age. Alcohol includes wine, beer, liquor, and mixed drinks.