The University of Calgary’s Graduating This Year program is helping students get ready for life after university.
The GTY program will be expanded this year to both fall and winter semesters and has partnered with the Office of Leadership and Student Engagement.
Launched in 2009, the GTY program is an initiative run out of the U of C’s Alumni Relations Office. GTY hosts a series of educational events.
This year’s GTY programming kicked off on October 2 with Senior Week, which included an alumni panel and a series of workshops focused on topics such as making a good first impression and applying for graduate school.
U of C masters student Sarah Akierman was a speaker during Senior Week. She said the GTY program is beneficial to students.
“It can help students see what their skill sets are and what they have to offer,” said Akierman.
Alumni programming officer Pamela Aranas said that another goal of the program is to build strong relationships with future alumni.
“We see the program as a stepping stone to a life-long relationship with the Alumni Association and the U of C as a whole,” said Aranas.
Aranas credits the positive response received to the GTY program’s focus, which tends to be on topics complementary to academics rather than subjects usually addressed in the classroom.
“We cover a wide variety of topics, such as making budgets and repaying student loans, creating a personal brand and recognizing and addressing the stresses in the school to career transition,” said Aranas, who added that students also have the opportunity to interact with recent graduates and can learn about dining etiquette, networking and dressing for success.
Aside from workshops, the GTY program includes the class ambassador program and a speaker series. Class ambassadors serve as representatives for their class and are involved in promoting the GTY program. Applications for class ambassadors are due November 2.
“We want to highlight alumni expertise and insights and show students the exciting and diverse career paths our grads take and how they’re impacting their communities,” said Aranas.
The events can be helpful at any degree stage and all students are welcome to participate.