By Phoebe Roe

Last weekend’s Winter Weekend alumni events led to the introduction of a new career initiative, Kenyon Works, which will help to better connect students with alumni. Additionally, with graduation right around the corner, the event gave seniors the opportunity to network on campus.

During Winter Weekend, seniors were encouraged to meet with alumni at various panels or attend the senior class alumni welcome dinner. Held on the night of Fe. 21, the dinner welcomed graduating seniors into the alumni body and gave them a networking opportunity.

“I can track, with the senior dinner, specific seniors who made a connection at the dinner that resulted in a job,” said Scott Baker, director of alumni and parent programs.
Along with meeting students, alumni attended meetings for their different alumni groups. One of the main groups to meet this weekend was the Alumni Council, an advisory body for Kenyon. As well as working on their yearly duties, at this year’s meeting the Alumni Council also began planning Kenyon Works.

The initiative was inspired by the current job market and the reality that most careers have evolved into a compilation of many different careers, requiring a range of skills.
Among other things, Kenyon Works will reach out to Kenyon’s class agents, associative agents, parents and regional associations, encouraging alumni to update their employment and contact information on the Career Development Office’s alumni directory. By bringing more awareness to resources that are already in place, the plan is for Kenyon Works to create a greater connection between alumni and students.

“These days, it’s almost entirely unheard of to get a job out of college and stay in that job for 30 years or stay in the same company for 30 years,” Baker said. Kenyon Works “will obviously affect the students who are graduating, but it also affects our current alumni.”

Whether or not Kenyon Works will create more opportunities for students will be decided as more information on the project is released during the coming months.

“The hope is that it will help us all be more connected and be more aware of what communities are out there and ultimately we’ll all be able to help each other and create job opportunities for each other,” Baker said.