Men's Lacrosse Heads to New York City for Career Development Day
Feb 06 | Men's Lacrosse
For the fourth straight year, Rutgers men's lacrosse took advantage of its vast alumni network and proximity to the largest city in the nation, venturing into New York City for a day of networking and professional development.
"It's great to see how this event has developed over the last four years," team captain Adam Charalambides said. "With the generous alumni base that we have that are willing to help us and work with us, it's really a great day. Especially for the younger individuals to get a real grasp on what the real world is going to be like after college. Just developing more of the language and how you should act in a professional setting."
Under the leadership of eighth-year head coach Brian Brecht, a team emphasis has been utilizing strong alumni relations for the benefit of the student-athletes.
"One of the great things about Rutgers lacrosse is the opportunities we have with our network of alumni," Brecht said. "It's a great opportunity to come into the city for a professional development day where our student-athletes get to speak to our alumni across the business, finance, sales and marketing fields, and all the different sectors that the guys are interested in. Learning about the internship opportunities and job placement will certainly help them for their future."
The tour began with the visit to the NFL headquarters. The group was hosted by Robert Gallo, the NFL's Vice President of Club Business Development.
The team then had the opportunity to hear from a trio of speakers, including Martin Malinow, the President of Sompo Global Weather, HSBC, Director and Senior Equity Analyst Chris Recouso, and Chris Heffernan, a 1985 graduate of Rutgers and a Director at Ernst and Young.
In the afternoon, the student-athletes were hosted at Millennium Management by Rutgers alumnus James Connelly, a Senior Trader and Portfolio Manager. The panel included three recent Rutgers lacrosse graduates: Will Mangan, the 2012 Big East Midfielder of the Year and an Equity Trader at UBS, Ed Bartelson, a team captain in 2013 now working for the Macquarie Group, and Steve Hillenbrand, a 2018 graduate who now works for Bank of America.
After participating on this trip multiple times as an undergraduate, Hillenbrand understood the value of this program and the real-world lessons it teaches.
"It is really interesting because, having gone for three years at Rutgers, no trip was the same," Hillenbrand explained. "You always got something different out of it. You got to hear different people speak and different people's perspectives about how they got to where they are. One thing you really learn is that there is no one set track. Everybody finds a different way into what is their internship or a job, or even if it's just simply making a connection. There are so many avenues to take that I think it is a very valuable experience."
With the unique opportunity this time around to sit at the other side of the table. Hillenbrand enjoyed the chance to share his perspective with some of his former teammates. The message he delivered was to savor this experience and the value of the connections it creates.
"One thing that I just tried to instill in them is that this trip is not about you trying to get a job on Wall Street in one specific industry," Hillenbrand explained. "It is really about you getting exposure to a bunch of different alumni who all had different paths to where they are now. And for these kids to fully appreciate that there is no one path but that there are a lot of avenues toward success and success looks a lot different to a lot of different people."
Just as important to the experience is the networking connections made between the current and former players.
"Being able to share that and offering myself as a resource to those guys was really rewarding because I know that I would not have the role that I have now at Bank of America without this trip and the connections I made," Hillenbrand explained. "It was a very rewarding experience to have gone on that trip for three years and now to be on the other side of it and get to present my perspective to guys that are in the room, who are still some of my best friends."
Overall, the trip represented another positive day of growth for the team off the field.
"This was an awesome networking event," sophomore Ryan Gallagher said. "We're very grateful for all the hard work everyone put into this for us."
"It's great to see how this event has developed over the last four years," team captain Adam Charalambides said. "With the generous alumni base that we have that are willing to help us and work with us, it's really a great day. Especially for the younger individuals to get a real grasp on what the real world is going to be like after college. Just developing more of the language and how you should act in a professional setting."
Under the leadership of eighth-year head coach Brian Brecht, a team emphasis has been utilizing strong alumni relations for the benefit of the student-athletes.
"One of the great things about Rutgers lacrosse is the opportunities we have with our network of alumni," Brecht said. "It's a great opportunity to come into the city for a professional development day where our student-athletes get to speak to our alumni across the business, finance, sales and marketing fields, and all the different sectors that the guys are interested in. Learning about the internship opportunities and job placement will certainly help them for their future."
The tour began with the visit to the NFL headquarters. The group was hosted by Robert Gallo, the NFL's Vice President of Club Business Development.
The team then had the opportunity to hear from a trio of speakers, including Martin Malinow, the President of Sompo Global Weather, HSBC, Director and Senior Equity Analyst Chris Recouso, and Chris Heffernan, a 1985 graduate of Rutgers and a Director at Ernst and Young.
In the afternoon, the student-athletes were hosted at Millennium Management by Rutgers alumnus James Connelly, a Senior Trader and Portfolio Manager. The panel included three recent Rutgers lacrosse graduates: Will Mangan, the 2012 Big East Midfielder of the Year and an Equity Trader at UBS, Ed Bartelson, a team captain in 2013 now working for the Macquarie Group, and Steve Hillenbrand, a 2018 graduate who now works for Bank of America.
After participating on this trip multiple times as an undergraduate, Hillenbrand understood the value of this program and the real-world lessons it teaches.
"It is really interesting because, having gone for three years at Rutgers, no trip was the same," Hillenbrand explained. "You always got something different out of it. You got to hear different people speak and different people's perspectives about how they got to where they are. One thing you really learn is that there is no one set track. Everybody finds a different way into what is their internship or a job, or even if it's just simply making a connection. There are so many avenues to take that I think it is a very valuable experience."
With the unique opportunity this time around to sit at the other side of the table. Hillenbrand enjoyed the chance to share his perspective with some of his former teammates. The message he delivered was to savor this experience and the value of the connections it creates.
"One thing that I just tried to instill in them is that this trip is not about you trying to get a job on Wall Street in one specific industry," Hillenbrand explained. "It is really about you getting exposure to a bunch of different alumni who all had different paths to where they are now. And for these kids to fully appreciate that there is no one path but that there are a lot of avenues toward success and success looks a lot different to a lot of different people."
Just as important to the experience is the networking connections made between the current and former players.
"Being able to share that and offering myself as a resource to those guys was really rewarding because I know that I would not have the role that I have now at Bank of America without this trip and the connections I made," Hillenbrand explained. "It was a very rewarding experience to have gone on that trip for three years and now to be on the other side of it and get to present my perspective to guys that are in the room, who are still some of my best friends."
Overall, the trip represented another positive day of growth for the team off the field.
"This was an awesome networking event," sophomore Ryan Gallagher said. "We're very grateful for all the hard work everyone put into this for us."
Players Mentioned
Attack
/ Men's Lacrosse
Midfield
/ Men's Lacrosse
Defense
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