VESTAL, N.Y. -- Homecoming Weekend for the Binghamton Athletic Department began with the fourth annual Alumni Networking Panel, which was held Friday afternoon in the TAU Room of the Events Center. Coordinated by both the Varsity Club and the Student Athlete Success Center (SASC), the event featured five alumni athlete panelists who spoke to current senior student-athletes about making the transition to life after college.

The Alumni Networking Panel has become a staple of Homecoming Weekend for the Binghamton Athletic Department. The combination of bringing alumni back to campus and helping the current senior student-athletes has made the event in more ways than one.

Linda Reynolds is an Assistant Athletic Director at Binghamton University and has been part of the SASC since the Alumni Networking Panel was first introduced in 2013. She has seen first-hand how the event has since taken off.

"This is a great opportunity for us to combine a lot of things," she said. "It's a chance for us to not just bring back alumni on Homecoming Weekend but also for them talk to seniors who are facing the unknown of life after college. They have been in (the current students') shoes, can relate to them and give them good advice."

This year's panelists included Tim Tobin (Class of 1997), Alexa Zybyniewski (Class of 2015), Chris Gaube (Class of 2011), Crystal Joseph (Class of 1987) and Tom Cummings (Class of 2003).

Tobin was on the men's swimming & diving team. He is currently the managing director of Russell, Tobin & Associates -- a company he co-founded.

Alexa Zbytniewski was on the volleyball team. She is now the Assistant Community Manager for Horizon Media in New York City.

Gaube was both a track and cross country captain during his undergraduate career. He currently works for Nike and oversees the field marketing program EKIN for the East Coast.

Joseph was a track & field All-American during her years at Binghamton. She is now a self-employed kinesiologist and chiropractic sports practitioner in New York City.

Cummings was on the baseball team during its transition to the NCAA Division I level. He is now a doctor and is part of a private family practice group in Central New York.

For nearly two hours, the five alumni shared their experiences with the senior student-athletes. They gave practical advice from networking, putting together resumes, interviewing and making the most of the life skills they learned from being student-athletes at Binghamton.

"It's pretty overwhelming to be here in a position where I can give back," Tobin said. "Binghamton did an outstanding job in helping me grow both as a person and a professional. It prepared me in every way for what I have experienced in the work place and in life."

"I definitely learned so much in the year that I have been out of school," Zbytniewski said. "I hope telling these seniors about the knowledge I have gained comforts them a little bit and gives them some confidence going into the work place."

The current senior student-athletes left the Alumni Networking Panel appreciating the experience of hearing from the panelists.

"It was great coming here," men's basketball player Marlon Beck said. "Just to have the privilege to hear from these five professionals coming out of Binghamton University is amazing. To be able to network with them is going to be great for us down the road and like they said, everyone who is an alumni of Binghamton becomes your teammate after graduation."

"These people are truly here to help us," fellow men's basketball player John Rinaldi said. "They were in the same position that we are in now. They gave us real-world experiences that will go a long way in our search for jobs. It's a goal of ours to learn from them and teach the kids here when we are alumni."

Many of the current senior student-athletes are still in the process of deciding what they will do following graduation. The transparency of the panelists was something that they really appreciated.

"They shared a lot of their struggles coming out of college," women's swimmer Cindy Shi said. "They had to figure out what they wanted to do and they have ended up doing really well. So that is motivation for me."

"They truly showed what it was like to enter the work force or continue on to grad school," women's lacrosse senior Val DeNapoli said. "I am someone who is questioning whether I should get my master's right away or find a job first. So it was great to hear from them and see what their opinions are about the paths they have taken."

For DeNapoli and several other seniors, however, Friday night would not be their last encounter with alumni athletes during Homecoming Weekend. The women's lacrosse team was one of three squads to hold games on Saturday morning pitting current players against its alumni who returned to campus.

"It will be different tomorrow," DeNapoli said with a smile. "We are absolutely not going to take it easy on our alumni on the field."