Dinner with 12 Strangers event brings together alumni, students

The program is designed as a networker for students to come together with FIU alumni who can offer mentorship.

By Martin Haro ’05

As alumni, FIU graduates are the torchbearers, the ones who elevate the profile of the university throughout the community, the country and the world.

FIU alumni also serve as mentors to currently enrolled students who are about to embark on their careers. One the programs of the FIU Alumni Association – Dinner with 12 Strangers – is an exciting way for alumni to connect with students and share with them their early professional experiences.

The dinners are designed to serve as networkers where FIU students can pick up useful tips that they can apply to their career plans. On May 6, three alumnae currently working in the Office of Alumni Relations – Dianne Cordova ’06, MS ’10, Vanessa Baldomero ’06 and Elena Balsinde ’06 – hosted a dinner at Modesto A. Maidique Campus for a group of Student Alumni Association members.

Among the guests for the evening, which featured a catered Italian meal, was Regina Castañeda, a School of Journalism and Mass Communication student. She said the tips she received “really opened my eyes to what I’m supposed to look for and keep in mind when I’m considering my career options.”

The next Dinner with 12 Strangers is scheduled for May 13. To host a dinner or for more information, contact Dianne Cordova at dcordova@fiu.edu.