Canberra has proved the Griffith University spirit is strong at a recent cocktail reception held for alumni living in Australia’s capital. More than 50 Griffith graduates gathered at Crowne Plaza in Canberra for a chance to network with fellow alumni across a diverse range of industries and hear about Griffith’s Industry Mentoring and eCareerCoach programs and the development of the upcoming alumni peer mentoring program.
The night began with a professional development session called ‘The Power of Mentoring’ that saw several past students keen to re-engage with the University through avenues such as official mentoring programs and Griffith Business School’s eCareerCoach.
The event also acted as the perfect way to introduce Griffith University’s new Vice Chancellor Professor Carolyn Evans to past students. She spoke of the University’s commitment to three Es: excellence, ethical behavior and engagement.
“We are deeply engaged with our local communities, with state and national communities and globally. Alumni are a fundamentally important part of that,” she said. “We want to make sure they remain as part of our community. They’re our alumni and we are very proud of them,” she said.
“Many alumni are now working in interesting and diverse roles, that’s something we can learn from and build upon to ensure our graduates continue to benefit from their association with Griffith.”
Another of the Griffith Executive in attendance was Deputy Vice Chancellor (Engagement) Martin Betts. “We’ve been travelling here to Canberra for a number of years now to engage with our alumni,” he said.
“It’s always a great thrill to find out when you meet graduates for the first time just what they’ve been doing since they left Griffith. There are so many different stories and it’s also great to catch up with people you met on previous occasions to find out more about their interests and how their careers have travelled.
“It’s really helpful for us to stay in contact with our alumni and we love hearing their stories. We encourage our alumni to keep sharing them with us.”