VESTAL, N.Y. – The Binghamton Athletic Department continued its Homecoming tradition on Friday night with its sixth annual Alumni Networking Panel, which was held in the TAU Room of the Events Center. Coordinated by both the Varsity Club and the Student Athlete Success Center (SASC), the event featured four 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 successful 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.
"I'm thrilled that we were able to have such diversity of experiences on the alumni career panel this year," she said. "It's always great when our student-athletes can hear from people who have been in their shoes and understand the excitement and uncertainty associated with making the transition from college to a career or graduate school. If our student-athletes walk away from the panel with their mind a little more at ease and having made a new connection, then the event is a success in my book."
This year's panelists included Bryan Arnault (Class of 2007), Neal Roher (Class of 1980), Justin Leskow (Class of 2009), Ali Castiglie (Class of 2011) and Dr. Jen Wegmann (Class of 1994).
Arnault was a member of the men's soccer program that won the 2003 and 2006 America East titles and advanced to four straight conference title games. Today, he is an attorney with Blitman and King, LLP.
Roher was part of the men's tennis program when it captured the 1978 and 1979 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) championships. Today, he is an attorney for the Law Offices of Neal Roher.
Leskow was teammates with Arnault on the men's soccer squad and was also part of the 2006 champions. He is currently an Assistant Vice President for U.S. Trust, Bank of America.
Castiglie remains one of the top goal scorers and point leaders in women's lacrosse program history. Today, she is the Campaign Director for Mission Media.
Wegmann, meanwhile, was a two-time honorable mention All-American with the women's basketball program and was inducted into Binghamton Athletic Department Hall of Fame in 2000. She remains at the university where she is a Decker Health and Wellness Studies Lecturer.
For over an hour, the five alums 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 so great to come back and see all of the new faces and to have a dialogue with the current seniors," Castiglie said. "Binghamton is a huge part of who I am today and I was so excited to come back and share my experiences with the seniors and to learn a little bit more about them."
"When I was a student at Binghamton from 2005-09, I had a lot of upperclassmen and alumni who helped me out," Leskow said. "So I'm glad to come back and help out these seniors in any way I can."
The current senior student-athletes left the Alumni Networking Panel appreciating the experience of hearing from the panelists.
"It was really great to see alumni come back who were once in the position that we are in now as seniors," women's basketball player Corrinne Godshall said. "Some of the people on the panel knew exactly what they wanted to do after college and others didn't. But all of them are in good places right now and that's refreshing to see."
"This was reassuring for seniors like us," men's swimmer Max Willard said. "There are a lot of unknowns for us right now and that can be scary. But they gave us good advice and reassured us that it does work out in the end."
