Get expert advice.
Let us help you navigate your career & life after Wake Forest.
Explore our new monthly posts below.
Get connected.
Tap in to the Wake Forest network. Join our programs and events. Develop your skill set. Stay in the loop.
Learn from your fellow Deacs.
Read alumni stories about life & work after Wake Forest.
“Not everything in life happens according to plan. With that, there might be unexpected opportunities. Try not to make any assumptions before trying anything out. You will likely be more successful the more you try new things with an open mind.”
Sehyun Kim (’23), Financial Management Specialist at Aon in New York, NY
It’s a good day to sprinkle some reminders around campus. 🎩💛
🎩NEW DEACON SPOTLIGHT🎩
Mary Daniel Cheek (‘19) works as the Development and Communications Coordinator at Little Lights Urban Ministries which is a faith-based nonprofit that provides compassionate support and practical resources for underserved children, youth, and families in📍Washington, DC. She spent 9 months post-grad in a spiritual formation and vocational discernment cohort which prepared her to enter the full-time world of work.
Here are some fun facts about Mary Daniel:
🖤 Some of her most cherished memories while at Wake Forest include playing intramural basketball, writing for the Old Gold & Black, and going to Cook-Out with friends.
🎩 As a student, Mary Daniel tried out to be the Demon Deacon mascot. Sadly, she didn’t make the cut, but it was a fun experience she’ll never forget!
📚 She has a goal to read one book written by an author from every country in the world. So far, she has read 58 books on the way to her goal.
We’ll leave you with some advice from Mary Daniel for new grads and young alumni:
💡💡💡💡💡💡
“For anyone considering working for a nonprofit, I would emphasize the importance of being flexible. Needs, resources, and the scope of work are ever-changing when you work for a small, mission-driven organization. This means that employees who want to contribute well and succeed need to be okay with change and willing to adapt to that which benefits the organization and those it serves.”
Read more of our Q&A with Mary Daniel at the link in our profile or stories! Plus, you can always check out our past alumni spotlights in the “Deacon Spotlight” highlight reel in our profile.
https://alumni.opcd.wfu.edu/deacon-spotlight/deacon-spotlight-mary-daniel-cheek/
Our final Coffee Chat with Alumni for this spring is coming up in May (last one until the fall)! ☕️ Deadline to sign-up and be included in our pairings for alumni conversations is next week on Friday, May 2nd. 📆
Whether this is your first time participating or you’ve signed up for every coffee chat this past spring, this is an awesome (and easy) way to expand your network. 👥👥👥👥👥👥
*This is an alumni-only event (students – connect with @wfuopcd for student networking opps!)*
[Side note: This is NOT a live, time-specific event! And yes, you have to register for each month in which you want to participate!]
If you’re new around here, this is how it works:
1️⃣ You register.
2️⃣ We pair you up with another 🎩 Wake alum and introduce the two of you via email.
3️⃣ The two of you find a mutually convenient time for a conversation (phone, Zoom, in-person, whatever makes sense for y’all!)
💥And just like that, you’ve grown your network, one conversation at a time!💥
It’s super simple. Sign-up at the 🔗 in our profile or stories to give it a try!
https://wakenetwork.wfu.edu/events/online-coffee-chat-with-alumni-05-06-2025-0011492
Whether you’ve played around with AI to help you brainstorm an idea or write an email, or have stayed away from using AI tools completely, you might want to consider using AI as a resource for your career development!
Did you know that AI can be a great tool to help you figure out next steps in your career or job search process? 🤖
You can use prompts to ask AI to help you:
💡 Assess your current skills and experiences in relation to your career interests
🔎 Identify emerging trends and opportunities in specific career fields or paths
📈 Predict future job market demands
💛 Explore career paths based on your interests and skills
🗒️ Create a learning plan with suggested courses, certificates, or training opportunities to grow your skill set for the job that you want
Read this article from Dice (use the link in our bio or stories) to get sample prompt ideas for using AI to navigate what’s next for you.
https://www.dice.com/career-advice/can-ai-help-you-plan-out-your-career-goals
Have you graduated from Wake Forest within the past 5️⃣ years (Classes of 2020-2024)? 🎓
We have a ⚡️free⚡️open enrollment course to help you develop five key competency areas that we believe all young professionals need to master in their first five years after college.
In our Five For Your First Five online course, we cover topics such as:
💛 Discovering your why – being able to articulate what motivates you to do what you do each day.
📝 Redefining failure and learning from those experiences when you haven’t been successful.
🔁 Building your network and finding your people post-college.
👔 Navigating impostor syndrome, organizational politics, and gathering data on your experiences to figure out what’s next for you.
🏆 Learning how to play the long game in your career.
Register and access this course at any time using the 🔗 in our bio or stories!
https://wakenetwork.wfu.edu/events/online-05-25-2024-0010889
🎩NEW DEACON SPOTLIGHT🎩
Get to know @wfualumni Charity Wagenti (‘09) who works as a Manager for Pharmacy Procurement and 340B Program in📍Columbus, GA! Charity knew she wanted to work in healthcare from an early age after traveling on mission trips to Jamaica with her father. Now, she manages the 340B program at her local hospital which involves using limited federal resources to serve at-risk patients.
Here are some fun facts about Charity:
😍 She decided she wanted to go to Wake Forest on her very first visit to campus. She thought (and still thinks!) that it was a beautiful campus and it was love at first sight.
🎾 Charity played club tennis at Wake Forest and still plays today.
💛 She was a perfect match and was able to donate a kidney to her mother!
We’ll leave you with some advice from Charity for new grads and young alumni:
💡💡💡💡💡💡
“Personal habits for life after college are critical in order to thrive as a working adult. Prioritizing and staying on top of finances with issues like taxes or investments lead to success. It is also important to maintain healthy habits with nutrition and exercise habits by sticking with a routine. Work/ life balance is also critically important, as it is not wise to say yes to every opportunity. However, it is important to not miss valuable opportunities as well.”
Read more of our Q&A with Charity at the link in our profile or stories! Plus, you can always check out our past alumni spotlights in the “Deacon Spotlight” highlight reel in our profile.
https://alumni.opcd.wfu.edu/deacon-spotlight/deacon-spotlight-charity-wagenti/
If you’re in the graduating Classes of 2024 or 2025, this one’s for you! 🎓
From our experience, many new grads struggle to navigate their first year out of college.
That’s why our Alumni Personal & Career Development team has a wide range of tools and resources to help our @wfualumni (and soon to be alumni in T minus 4 weeks, but who’s counting 🥺) be successful in their Year One.
What do we offer?
📖 Read the Year One book: Written by @wfualumni Allison McWilliams (‘95) and Katherine Laws Waters (‘20), get insight on how to handle the various work and life challenges you’ll likely face. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQDWL742
⬇️ Post-College Starter Kit: Download our *free* starter kit to help you make the most of your first 90 days after college. https://prod.wp.cdn.aws.wfu.edu/sites/200/2024/09/Starter-Kit_091224.pdf
💻 Take the Year One online course: This *free* online, self-paced course was designed to help @wfualumni figure out work, life, relationships (at work), personal development, and what’s next after Year One. Register and access this course immediately. https://alumni.opcd.wfu.edu/whats-next/
🔎 Use our LEARN Model: We recommend starting off with Step 1: Learn, with resources and tools to help you figure out how your new job role and organization fits with your skills and interests. Being a curious, intentional learner is a huge part of being successful in your Year One. https://alumni.opcd.wfu.edu/step-1-learn/
🎥 Check out our Webinar Library: Filter our webinar recordings by key words or LEARN Model steps to watch past webinars hosted by WFU experts and alumni. https://alumni.opcd.wfu.edu/wednesday-webinars/
🗣️ Get Expert Advice: Did you know we have 500+ articles on a variety of personal and professional topics, many written by WFU experts and alums? Filter by Year One, Young Professional, and other keywords. https://alumni.opcd.wfu.edu/get-expert-advice/
Visit our stories for all links!
Whether you’ve recently started a new job or are planning to in the near future (👀here’s looking at you WFU Class of 2025), it’s important to begin with a 30-60-90 day mindset. What exactly is this? ⬇️
Having a 30-60-90 day mindset involves thinking about what you need to learn – about the organization, about your role, about structures and systems – in order to be successful during your first three months in a new position.
Step 1 of our LEARN Wake Forest Alumni Career Development Model™ is a great place to start. In Step 1, you can download several ⚡️free resources, including the 30-60-90 days goal-setting worksheet from this post, to help you start work well.
💥Bonus: If you’re not starting a new job, but instead are a manager or colleague of a new team member, you can use any of the resources on our LEARN Model Step 1 to help your new hires get adjusted to their role and make the most of their first 90 days.
Visit the link in our profile or stories to start exploring these resources!
https://alumni.opcd.wfu.edu/step-1-learn/
🎩NEW DEACON SPOTLIGHT🎩
We recently caught up with Bridget Ring (BA 2021, Communications & Entrepreneurship) who works as an Account Executive at Ogilvy in New York, NY. During her time at Ogilvy, Bridget has worked across an array of consumer-facing brands and currently sits on their travel team, where she works with international tourism boards to promote their destinations to the US market.
Here are a few fun facts about Bridget:
🏡 Bridget grew up in Manchester, Vermont.
🇬🇧 She studied abroad in London in 2019!
🐈 Bridget adopted her cat Momo from the cat cafe in downtown Winston-Salem.
We’ll leave you with some wisdom from Bridget:
💡💡💡💡💡💡
“The most important thing is finding what makes you happy and fulfilled outside of the office and making it a priority. Whether it’s cooking, reading, or running, you need to actively make the effort to keep these things in your life. While you’re adjusting to a new job, it is easy to want to go back to your apartment and crash after work, but making the effort to do the things that bring you joy are always worth it.”
Read more of our Q&A with Bridget at the link in our profile or stories! Plus, you can always check out our past alumni spotlights in the “Deacon Spotlight” highlight reel in our profile.
https://alumni.opcd.wfu.edu/deacon-spotlight/deacon-spotlight-bridget-ring/