Despite my hectic lifestyle during this time period, I accepted an invitation to a mixer hosted by the Douglass Asian Alumnae Network. My reasoning: free and homemade Asian snacks appeared in the advertisement. (I realize that this is poor reasoning, but such primitive wants take precedence over everything else in my world.)
I attended the event with my friend Grace and became saw other familiar faces there as well. As promised, there WERE free homemade snacks that were wonderful. I tasted the best dumplings that I'd ever tasted, as well as other interesting foods.
We did some "getting to know each other" icebreakers while eating, but the part of this event that stayed with me occurred towards the end of my time there.
Each alumna discussed her academic endeavors and workforce encounters. Each had an interesting story, from the Computer Science major who currently studies Nursing to the Asian American Cultural Center worker who formed her own business. Additionally, and this was probably the point of the program, each of these women credited Douglass for a piece of her professional and personal prosperity.
Examples: Someone got hired for a job because no other applicants learned about a computer program that she learned during her externship. Someone else felt such a strong bond with her Douglass friends that they maintain a fast friendship despite living away from each other. Etc. Etc.
It made me realize that, though the future is nebulous, there are sympathetic and enthusiastic people at Douglass who will make a strong effort to help me to it, just as the "Douglass difference" helped the alumnae. Whether I'm taking the business card of future contacts, or taking advantage of free aliments, I know that I can search for a source of comfort and support here.
