Follow your Heart and Pay Attention to Accumulation
——Duke alumni gathering event in Duke Kunshan University
On the afternoon of November 9th, a group of Duke alumni gathered at Duke Kunshan University to share their industry experience and recommendations to students at Duke Kunshan University. Among the alumni who participated, were seniors who have worked in their fields for more than 30 year, as well as young elites who have recently graduated and successfully joined top internet and consulting companies. Alumni shared their career stories at McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, Boston Consulting Group, as founders of start-ups in the pharmaceutical industry, and partners in investment banking.
The main purpose of the event was to engage current students with successful alumni and break down the barriers of communication between those in their studies and those in the workplace. Students enjoyed a private lunch with alumni, whereby they could network in a relaxed setting. During the presentations after lunch, Ms. Qiao, who works for Ctrip, talked about how she was fortunate to leave her disadvantaged hometown and combined her own study experience with job-hunting experience, reminding students to cherish the precious opportunity to study in Duke Kunshan University. Mr. Tian, a partner at Aaison Capital, presented a detailed analysis of the economic situation and the employment market in China and the United States through data, and suggested that young students should not rush to start their own businesses at the early stage of graduation, but seek to do what they love and devote themselves to exploration and accumulate resources in their field of interest.
Ms. Huang from Goldman Sachs, Mr. Li from Boston Consulting and Mr. Chen from Oriental Asset Management held a panel to answer the students’ concerns about college life, professional choice and future employment. Students once again had the opportunity to have in-depth exchanges with alums during afternoon tea as they escorted the group to the new student center at the Blue Oasis. Alumni were impressed by how driven and thoughtful DKU students were towards their future goals even as freshmen and students loved listening to recent and veteran alumni share their stories of securing great careers and offering words of encouragement.
