VESTAL, N.Y. -- Homecoming Weekend for the Binghamton Athletic Department began with the seventh 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 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 significant in more ways than one.
Bette Anne Gaube is an Assistant Athletic Director at Binghamton University and has been involved with the event since it was first introduced in 2013. She has seen first-hand how the event has since taken off.

"This has been a great event for our student-athletes to meet some of our alumni who have made the transition after college," she said. "It gives them a chance to pick their brains and to talk about internships and job opportunities. More and more student-athletes are spreading the word about how this is a great event."

This year's panelists included Julie Chambers, Mikala Ferry, Kieran Gibbons and Brian Lindsay.

Chambers is a 2012 graduate who was a four-year member of the volleyball team. Today, she works for Automatic Data Processing, an American provider of human resource management and software.

Ferry graduated from Binghamton in 2014 and stayed to earn her Master's Degree the following year. She was a member of the softball team for four years. She is currently the Director of Academic Operations and Enrollment in the Decker School of Nursing on campus.
Gibbons is a 1986 graduate and competed on both the track and cross country teams. He presently is an Application Specialist at BLOOMBERG LP, a privately held financial softball, date and media company in New York City.

Lindsay graduated from Binghamton in 2005 and was on the baseball team. He is currently a Finance Manager at Lockheed Martin and is in charge of the Electronic Warfare Business Area.

For over an hour, the four alumni shared their experiences with the senior student-athletes. They gave practical advice from networking, interviewing and making the most of the life skills they learned from being student-athletes at Binghamton.

Ferry was a senior student-athlete when the first Alumni Networking Panel was held back in 2013. She remembers that event well and was more than happy to return to encourage the current seniors.

"I remember going there as a senior," she said. "It was really helpful to me because networking can be really scary for anyone but especially for (college) students because they are young."

Gibbons graduated from Binghamton before the Events Center was built and was impressed with the changes on campus. He also was happy to see his college coach, Gary Truce, in the audience on Friday night.

"I was very proud and honored to take part in tonight's event," he said. "I have a lot a great memories of my time at Binghamton and I was glad to see Coach Truce. I learned so much here as a student-athlete and I hope these seniors know that the hard work they put in now will pay off after college."

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

"I really enjoyed this event," cross country and track runner Dan Schaffer said. "It was a great opportunity to hear from other student-athletes who have already begun their careers and to hear the advice they gave us. Even though they are far along in their careers, they talked about the different adversities and struggles they faced to get to where they are today."

"It was intimidating at first but once we sat down and heard the people speak it made us more comfortable," softball player Rayn Gibson said. "The alumni shared with us how they were once in our shoes and that each of them was able to take a different path to where they are now. They talked openly about their struggles and failures but they also said how they are still reaching for bigger and better things."