St. Lawrence Boasts One of Nation's Best Alumni Networks
The classes that St. Lawrence University students take over the course of their four years undoubtedly help prepare them for their future endeavors. Yet, it is often the connections that students make with Laurentian alumni that give them the advantage of getting a head start on their careers following graduation.
Earlier this year, St. Lawrence was named seventh Best Alumni Network in The Princeton Review’s Colleges That Pay You Back, which said it was one of the nation’s best colleges for students seeking a superb education with great career preparation and at an affordable price. Students who were surveyed for the publication described St. Lawrence as having an “absolutely excellent Career Services office, which offers a host of resources for students looking for jobs, internships, or research opportunities.”
“Networking and alumni contact is huge!” one student told the publication. “Alumni are very helpful and are proud to lend a hand.”
St. Lawrence’s Office of Career Services offers a number of signature career programs that are designed to engage alumni and parents with current students. Programs such as Shadow-A-Saint, Laurentians In Residence, SLU Connect, Internship Fellowship program, and Laurentians Investing in Networking and Careers, or LINC, all give students the opportunity to network with successful alumni and parents of students in a variety of career fields.
“We’re convinced that when students discover the incredible commitment of St. Lawrence alumni, who help them in their journey while they are here, those same students will pay that experience forward by being there as alumni mentors for future generations of students,” said Ron Albertson, director of Career Services. “There is no greater asset that we can offer than the Laurentian community.”
In addition to The Princeton Review, College Rank, a website dedicated to evaluating and ranking college programs and experiences, included St. Lawrence on its list of the Top 25 Best College Alumni Networks. It says, “St. Lawrence has a very enthusiastic alumni network with graduates actively participating programs with current students and young alumni. The school runs a Shadow-a-Saint program that matches undergraduates with an alumni mentor in their desired field of study to shadow for up to a week. After graduation, the alumni association helps recent grads connect through regional clubs and virtual networking.”
According to a 2016 Career Services Follow Up Survey, nearly 97 percent of recent St. Lawrence University graduates were either employed or attending graduate school less than one year after graduation. Many of those who are working indicated that they had found employment as a result of a connection with a Laurentian.
The Princeton Review also commended St. Lawrence for its loyal alumni network as well as its robust study abroad programs and top internship opportunities in its Best 381 Colleges: 2017 Edition, which came out in August 2016. The Princeton Review has also included St. Lawrence in several additional listings and publications, including Guide to 361 Green Colleges and Colleges That Create Futures as well as the 2017 edition of Colleges That Pay You Back: The 200 Schools That Give You the Best Bang for Your Tuition Buck.
