Dinner for Eight alumni program wins silver medal!
Concordia’s Dinner for Eight Program earned a silver medal in the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education’s 2010 Prix d’Excellence in the Best Alumni Program category.
The program creates a forum for Concordia graduates to share their professional experiences and outlook with students over dinner in a casual and relaxed setting, either at the host's home or a restaurant.
Host Harry Stergiopoulos, MBA 01, Investment Advisor at Assante Wealth Management, says taking part in the program has been “an enriching experience. I’ve been away from the academic environment for a long time now and doing something like this helps me to keep in touch with it. I strongly believe in giving back, especially to my alma mater, and if there’s even the slightest thing I can say to help someone along, then even better. I enjoyed myself and look forward to the next one!” said Stergiopoulos, who hosted the students at Pizzédélic in N.D.G.
Since it was launched in February 2009, 40 alumni have hosted 240 students.
“We match students to appropriate hosts, based on their career interests and field of study,” explains Rose Wangechi, Advancement and Alumni Relations’ Alumni Officer, Student Programs, who spearheaded the program.
Engineering student Agnieszka Koziol says her host, Concordia’s Tony Vanvari, Director, Major Programs, Facilities Management, was highly informative and had a genuine interest in making sure each student got the most out of their Dinner for Eight experiences. “He gave us some excellent advice on how to make ourselves stand out during the job search process and told us how skills from one discipline can easily be applied to another.”
Dinner for Eight complements the Mentor Program—also run by the Advancement and Alumni Relations Office—whose primary goal is to match students with experienced alumni for career guidance and advice.
The awards will be presented in June at CCAE’s conference in Victoria, B.C. CCAE is a volunteer-led organization that promotes excellence in educational advancement at universities, colleges, institutes and independent schools across Canada.
Related information
Look who's coming to dinner: The Gazette, May 23, 2009