LSA Connect turns six months!

A snapshot of  LSA Connect

LSA Connect, the college’s career networking and mentoring platform created exclusively for LSA students and alums, launched in late July 2020. Six months later, the platform has over 850 students and more than 400 alums.

LSA students haven’t hesitated to take advantage of the unprecedented access to alums: more than 3,500 messages have been sent back and forth on the platform since late July. At the time of writing, more than 40% of the alum population has been reached out to in industries ranging from technology, music, journalism, marketing, to environmental sustainability. 

The private messaging feature isn’t the only way for students and alums to chat. Alums have been busy answering students’ questions through the ever-growing discussion board; students post topical questions on an array of topics, from “Is it OK if your major is not related to your career choice?” to “What is the best way to spend a gap year before graduate school?” in order to crowd-source answers from alums.

It’s not too late—by joining today, you can offer support to students by sharing expertise that only you are equipped to share.

Getting the word out

Since LSA Connect launched, the LSA Opportunity Hub has introduced industry-specific student groups in the platform to help encourage deeper exploration of industries and career paths. In October we launched these student-only groups in eight broad industry buckets:

• Business
• Communications, Media & Entertainment
• Creative Arts & Museums
• Data & Technology
• Environment & Sustainability
• Healthcare & Public Health
• Law, Policy, and Government
• Social Services & Education 

Industry resources and insights, career-building events, and in-the-field opportunities like internships and jobs are posted weekly for students who opt-in. Nearly 650 students have already joined these groups to get industry-specific knowledge, expand their network with like-minded students, and gain a competitive edge. The next phase of industry groups will include invitations to alums, so look out for an opportunity to encourage deeper career exploration with students. 

Why join LSA Connect?

By accessing the platform anywhere in the world, you have the flexibility to manage your own time and the control to shape your own impact. The beauty of having LSA students accessible in one place is that you can scale your impact to any number of students; the platform allows you to choose how many students you want to mentor a month and hides your profile once you meet your cap so you’re never overextended. 

You can also choose how to connect with students, whether it be responding to questions on the discussion board or engaging in one-on-one conversations. Video calls are seamlessly set up through the ‘schedule a meeting’ feature within the platform which automatically configures to both participant’s time zones. Since all your mentoring can happen through the platform, you can control how much of your personal information is shared.

Conversations have already begun within the platform, but it’s not too late to make a difference. Join LSA Connect today to mentor students anytime and anywhere.