U-M History held its second Undergraduate Banquet and Career Conference on November 7-8, 2025. Six alums traveled to Ann Arbor to connect with current students thinking about their options post-graduation.
Smithsonian curator Christopher Wilson and finance managing director Vivian Flynn were both guests of last year's conference, and returned this year to share their wisdom and provide guidance to students on how to make the most of the events. Read more about the alumni participants here.
The banquet dinner took place Friday evening in the Terrace Ballroom at the Graduate Hotel. Many students took the opportunity to dress up and enjoy a formal meal in their honor. As part of a lightning round of introductions during the dinner, each alum spoke briefly about how a degree in history shaped their career and life trajectories.
For some, like Flynn and fellow financier Adnan Zuberi, they found the subject matter of history compelling, and were able to leverage their skills and training in research, critical thinking, and developing an argument to break into the world of finance. Historical thinking gave them an edge in some cases, as colleagues with backgrounds in economics did not have the well-rounded perspectives afforded by a history degree.
For others, like Wilson and historian Katharine Brophy, the history as a subject matter remained a significant part of their professions. After working at the Henry Ford museum for many years, Wilson got a job in Washington D.C. at the Smithsonian Institution, where he's been ever since. Brophy received her PhD in history, and taught for 26 years while also authoring award-winning historical romance novels.
After these comments, the rest of the evening featured open dialogue between students, alums, and faculty in attendance.
"Getting to speak directly to the alumni and asking them any question I could think of was very valuable, especially considering that they embodied the various paths that I could go down," noted one student after the event.
Matthew Trieste, a manager at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and leader of the NYC U-M Alumni Hockey Club, brought his son along to the banquet so he could see what it means to study history and be a Michigan Wolverine.
At the end of the evening, students asked final questions to the alums for all to answer. A graduating senior asked, "how were you feeling when you were about to graduate?"
Several alums responded that they had mixed feelings of nervousness and excitement, and described how they moved forward.
Brophy advised students not to let the pressure of immediate success get to them. "It seems like young people these days are expected to have already achieved so much before you've even graduated," she said. "But I encourage you to slow down. There's plenty of time, I promise."
On Saturday, a roundtable conference was held in the LSA Building and hosted by the LSA Opportunity Hub. Alums were placed at different tables, and students moved around the room to each table so that they could speak to each alum in turn and hear different perspectives. Afterwards, the group enjoyed more time for informal networking.
Given very positive feedback from both students and alums, the department plans to continue hosting this event each year.
Emma Kinery, a national reporter and one of the alums in attendance wrote, "'it was energizing speaking with both the undergrads, faculty, staff and fellow alums. I hope the students got as much out of it as I did."
