School Hosts Events for Alumni and Prospective Students in Cities Around the World

Classes at Yale SOM won't resume until January 22, but the SOM community remains active. SOM students, traveling on their own or as part of the International Experience trips that all first-year students are required to take, will host events for alumni and prospective students around the world over the coming weeks.

Current SOM students have helped organize a series of five student-alumni happy hours to be held between December 22 and January 3 in New York, Los Angeles, Hartford, Denver, and Washington, D.C. Dave Bledin ’08 said the events are intended to introduce students to the alumni in their hometowns in a more informal environment than the usual job-search process. Bledin said it helps students to meet with those who have graduated from SOM and gone on to be successful. “But it is a two-way communication,” he said. “Alums have heard about all the great changes going on with the new curriculum, but quite a few have never gotten the opportunity to hear about these transformations from anybody who has first-hand exposure to them.”

Over the next month, current students will also fan out across the globe to meet prospective students. These “winter socials” are meant to present information to those interested in applying to SOM and to answer questions on the process. The events will be held in 23 cities around the world, including Austin, Cleveland, Bangkok, Geneva, Los Angeles, Ho Chi Minh City, Istanbul, and Mumbai, from December 21 through January 18. Bruce DelMonico, director of admissions, said the socials provide prospective students who might not otherwise be able to come to the SOM campus a chance at direct contact with members of the SOM community. “I think it’s a testament to the school that students are so willing to take time out on their breaks to organize these events,” he said. “It speaks volumes about the level of support and enthusiasm that exists here for the school.”