7 Lessons for Alumni Software from the Failed Iowa Voting App
February 4, 2020
fredrik
Software is eating the world. As Iowa’s failed election app shows, that can sometimes be terrifying. The mobile app was supposed to make reporting results smoother. Instead, the app failed on multiple levels, resulting in “inconsistencies” and widespread fears of election hacking.
At Fox News, the schadenfreude is real. For those hoping the first Democratic primary election in Iowa would be a step towards restoring faith in American democracy, the failure of this little piece of enterprise software is an absolute nightmare. Keep reading ›
Do students really want to be mentored?
January 21, 2020
fredrik
I was at a conference for career services professionals when one of the presenters, a career office director, nearly had me choke on my coffee. “Students don’t want to be mentored,” she said, “they want internships and jobs.”
As someone who’s mentored 200+ students and launched hundreds of successful mentoring programs at Firsthand, I nearly stopped her, mid-presentation, to tell her she was missing the point. Of course students want jobs. Getting a good job is the #1 reason people pursue higher education. Saying that students want jobs and not mentoring amounts to saying that people want a salary, but don’t want to work. Keep reading ›
Creating New Connections
December 7, 2018
Sarah Sheppard
Tameka Edwards ’16 earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University at Albany and went on to receive a master’s degree in communications from her alma mater in 2018. She was working as the Graduate Assistant in the Advancement Events office, down the hall from the Alumni Association office, when graduation was approaching.
With graduation approaching and her career looming in the distance, Tameka wanted to connect with an alum who worked in a creative industry in New York City. She knew about UCAN, the UAlbany Career Advisory Network, but had yet to take advantage of it. Keep reading ›