By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- The Willamette University Athletics Professional Development Night, sponsored by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), was held on March 4 at the Cat Cavern on campus. There were more than 23 alumni presenters involved and 54 student-athletes attended the event. It was the 10th anniversary of SAAC hosting the Professional Development Night. SAAC's involvement began in 2013 through the efforts of swimmer and SAAC member Kayla Kosaki ('13).
The Willamette SAAC sponsors the annual event to help student-athletes development the ability to articulate how experiences in athletics translate into the workplace. The sponsors also hope to prepare WU student-athletes for networking and interviewing as they enter the job market.
Prior to the event, the SAAC held three workshops. The first two focused on LinkedIn with the assistance of Willamette MBA Career Team members Carly Pon and Katrina Garcia. The main goals of the first two workshops were to learn how to maximize the marketing of their experiences and skills, while also learning how to expand a network through LinkedIn.
The third workshop was presented by former WU men's soccer player Jim O'Neil ('83), who is the vice president and a wealth management financial advisor at RBC Wealth Management. O'Neil provided job tips and also discussed financial advising to the student-athletes in attendance.
The Professional Development Night featured a speed networking session, which gave student-athletes the opportunity to talk with several Willamette Athletics alumni and develop networking skills. Another panel, hosted by new Willamette Head Football Coach Aric Williams, was about "How to Articulate your Student-Athlete Experience." Williams was joined by former WU women's lacrosse assistant coach Annie Longtain and by former cross country and track and field runner Yonny Castillo-Flores ('16). Twelve alumni were involved in a question-and-answer session to complete the evening.
"Overall, the event was very interesting and our student-athletes were very engaged with our alumni," said Ashley Collins, SAAC Co-president. "We are looking to continue to grow this event bakc to what is used to be pre-pandemic."
ALUMNI PRESENTERS (with WU graduation years)
Business/Finance/Sales
Matt Benjamin '02, MBA '05
Andrew Kibbee '23, MBA '24
Bryan Martz '15, MBA '19
Lauren Miller '09
Healthcare
Ashlyn Ascuena-Mercil '23
Mason Fessler '18
Mike Hmura '89
Britanny Kochenderfer '19
Morgan Webster '19
Science/Technology/Engineering
Justus Eaglesmith '21, MBA '23, MS DS '23
Peter Riley Osborne '98
Johanna Stensaas '19
Raymond White '12
Creative Arts/Media/Communication
Nick Lawson, '12, MBA '14
CJ Walker '18, MBA '20
Public Service/Government
Yonny Castillo-Flores, '16
Morgan Smith '03, JD '07
Education/Youth Development/Training
Amanda Carpenter '21, MBA '22
Lacey Jones '21
Elizabeth Logsdon '20
Annie Longtain (assistant coach)
Emilio Solano '09
