“Welcome to the network!”

With that enthusiastic greeting to a packed audience of students in the Hollins Theatre, Judy Lambeth ’73 kicked off the opening session of the university’s sixth annual Career Connection Conference (C3), held October 23. 来自不同领域的79名霍林斯校友回到校园，谈论他们是如何将自己的文科教育转化为令人满意的职业的。 他们还提供了找到第一份工作的技巧、工具和技巧。

“By attending Hollins, you are now a member of our alumnae network,” said Lambeth, who chairs Hollins’ Board of Trustees as well as the university’s alumnae engagement initiative. “That’s a community of highly intelligent, independent-minded, audacious women who are here today to help you in any way they can. 我们坚信，霍林斯为我们的生活和事业做好了充分的准备，我们的教育每天都在不断丰富我们。 成为霍林斯社区的一员是一份终生的礼物，我们对此心存感激。 So, we want to give back by having 你的 back. 我们今天专门来支持你们。 We want you to soar, we want you to love whatever life throws at you and embrace it.”

在C3期间，学生和校友们参与了以下活动：

• 来自科学、写作和出版、商业、金融服务、教育、法律、视觉和表演艺术以及公共服务领域的职业女性参加互动会议。
• 特别主题设计，以方便校友的证明和交流实用技能。 重点包括制作一份有效的简历，金钱问题，离开霍林斯后的生活等等。
• “Speed networking” with a large number of alumnae, as well meeting one-on-one through mock interviews, resume critiques, and conversations about the graduate school application process.
• 会后进行小组讨论，讨论各种主题，包括工作场所的多样性。
  
  

Tina Wells, CEO and founder of Buzz Marketing Group, was this year’s C3 keynote speaker. Wells’ agency creates marketing strategies for clients within the beauty, entertainment, fashion, financial, and lifestyle sectors. 她花了近20年的时间，将网红和消费者与品牌客户联系起来。

Wells’ address focused on the theme “What’s Next?” and offered “a little handbook you can use to figure out how to build those first ten years post-college, because the life I enjoy today is due to the work I did in those first ten years.” She noted the importance of “developing that personal network, that personal board of directors that helps you make those key decisions and who holds you accountable. ‘Does this make sense?’ ‘Am I showing up authentically?’ ‘Am I doing what I’m supposed to be doing?’ Who better than 你的 peers to call you on that.”

Wells encouraged students to join professional associations (“Is the industry you’re in on the rise or declining? 未来五年的工作岗位在哪里？ These associations have all that information.”) as well as social clubs (“Too often when we graduate we think we have to be serious people and forget that we need to have fun.”). She also recommended creating a group of five like-minded peers (“Meet monthly with a group of people who have similar goals and visions and think about the world in a specific way. 互相承诺，互相帮助，互相提供工具。 Don’t be competitive, but hold each other responsible for meeting goals.”).

Wells also emphasized her personal philosophy, “You can’t make withdrawals where you haven’t made deposits. Never go into a situation saying, ‘Can you give me….’ or ‘Can I pick 你的 brain?’ There is always something you can do. Constantly ask 你的self, ‘Am I making a request or am I contributing? 我怎样才能在对我最重要的地方做出最大的贡献？’”

本着这种精神，兰贝斯敦促学生们在未来几年里分享自己的个人和职业经历。 “We’re hoping you’ll 赌球在线 the world and we’re also hoping that on some 赌球在线 day, when you’ve found 你的 career path, please come back to Hollins, attend a Career Connections Conference, and do the same thing for another generation of Hollins students.”

Photo caption: Tina Wells, CEO and founder of Buzz Marketing Group, was the keynote speaker for Hollins’ sixth annual Career Connection Conference (C3).

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