By Cal State Long Beach Alumni had the opportunity to return to the Barrett Athletic Administration Center to share their stories during a nostalgic night.
Beyond the Beach Career Planning gave both current Cal State Long Beach undergraduates and recent graduates the opportunity to hear from a panel of alumni about their experiences in the workforce. The panel discussed essential skill sets, as well as other pertinent topics for those pursuing a successful career path.
A crowd of 30 were present to learn from the panel’s expertise in an effort to build on their own personal and professional development. The panel was comprised of four successful university alumni: Diane Lee, Raymond Cervantez, Thomas Wong and Brandi Morgan.
Each panel member gave their own perspective on what it takes to become successful in your career.
Cervantez, an alumni and vice president for Farmers and Merchants Bank of Long Beach, highlighted the importance of mentorship in the business world, emphasizing the effect one person can have on another.
“Everyone is a mentor,” Cervantez said. “You can learn many life lessons from your peers. Bosses both good and bad have knowledge to offer us as well.”
Thomas Wong graduated from the university in 1981 with a BS in Engineering. He holds several performance awards and has furthered his career by starting Thomas Wong Consulting, which specializes in business development. The panel emphasized that communication skills, both verbal and written, are one of the most important skills to possess.
“Soft skills get you the job, technical skills get you promoted,” Wong said.
The panel touched on appropriate workplace attire and how to optimize your brand.
“Rolled up sleeves and an unbuttoned top button are my biggest pet peeves,” Wong said.
There was some laughter that followed after one of the alumni in the room slowly unrolled his sleeves.
“Dress for the part you want and the part becomes you,” Cervantez said.
According to a few event attendees, it looked like the panel was already making an impact on those present in the room.
“It was comforting hearing their advice tonight,” said Eydie Pasiel, a class of 2010 alumni with a BA in human development. “I found myself relating to a lot of the advice they shared, and I took lots of notes and plan on using the strategies that they talked about.”
During the final 20 minutes, the panel opened the floor and took questions from the audience. Once the time allotted for questions ended, the room gave the panel a resounding applause.
