From Connection to Camaraderie: How Alumni Networks Lead to Better Pizza, Better Careers, and Better Experiences

Kristel Owens (‘16 MBA, ’15 BCom) is Vice President of the Business Alumni Association, which represents all graduates of the Alberta School of Business. She is also a Client Success Manager at Benevity, the world’s leading corporate purpose software company. Kris is a passionate and gifted community builder and a long-time champion of the alumni community's power.

When Kristel accepted a 15-month contract and decided to move from Edmonton to Calgary in 2019, she would never have guessed that a mere 300-km relocation would feel so far from home. Moving to a new city, coupled with widespread closures due to the pandemic, could have easily resulted in feelings of isolation; instead, she wisely leveraged the University of Alberta alumni network and couldn’t feel more at home.

Starting fresh in a new city always presents challenges, and Kristel recalled her first months after settling into a new home and a Big 5 bank position.

“The first few months in a new city fly by just figuring out the basics — simple things, like finding the best pedway route to work and which yoga studio to join. I also wanted to know where the trendy neighbourhoods were hidden, where the nearest medical clinic was, and where to get the best pizza. When you don’t have a local community, you don’t have access to those city secrets.”

Knowing Where to Start

“I recalled the power of our alumni network as I thought back to meeting with University of Alberta alumni when I visited New York City a few years ago. Jami Drake and Jennifer Jenkins, of the University of Alberta’s Alumni Relations team, connected me to the New York City Alumni Chapter, and I attended their annual holiday event. This remarkable group of alumni had the shared experience of relocating from Edmonton and were more than happy to invite me into their home to share their tips, tricks, and advice on what not to miss during my trip. I was incredibly humbled by their warm welcome and inspired by their connectedness to one other.”

Whether relocating or just visiting a new city, knowing how to connect to your alumni network can open doors to the best of everything a city has to offer.

“Getting connected to local alumni is the best place to start. You don’t know what you don’t know about a new city, but I did know how to get started — I immediately updated my address online.”

Changing your address on both the University of Alberta Alumni page and the Alberta School of Business page allows alumni to receive more relevant content to their inbox. For Kristel, that started with a Welcome Event invitation.

“I received an invite to a ‘Welcome to Calgary’ event for University of Alberta graduates who were new Calgarians. The Calgary Alumni Chapter hosted a ‘Meet and Greet’ at Banded Peak Brewing for local beer and Luna Pizza. The chapter is highly engaged; there were nearly 60 registrants from a diversity of industries, faculties, and grad years. Everyone was eager to connect and share because this was a new home-away-from-home for us all.”

Calgary boasts the University of Alberta’s largest alumni network outside of Edmonton, with over 30,000 graduates!

“For me, this event highlighted how University of Alberta alumni support each other. The Chapter Lead connected me with a chapter volunteer, Jackie Fimrite, who worked at my same downtown corporate RBC location. Although we worked in different lines of business, we instantly connected, and she was happy to answer all of my questions and facilitate introductions. It was an invaluable opportunity to learn about entirely different arms of the business and make more connections.”

The University, Alberta School of Business, and the Calgary Alumni Chapter coordinate a range of networking events, including distillery spirit tastings and the long-running Alberta School of Business Stampede Breakfast. Remaining committed to alumni engagement, the chapter offered a socially-distanced drive-in movie night this past summer as an innovative way to connect alumni in alignment with health guidelines.

Beyond Alberta

University of Alberta alumni chapters can be found across Canada, the U.S., and even internationally.

“During my time working at the Alberta School of Business’ Masters Programs Office, I organized an MBA study tour to Seattle and Silicon Valley, and I hoped to schedule a tour at Amazon. At that time, tech companies were being very cautious, and many were not open to visitors. I reached out to Harum Nadeem, who was a fellow Business Alumni Association volunteer based in Seattle, and it turned out there was a long list of University of Alberta alumni working for Amazon!”

“Harum was kind enough to recruit several other University of Alberta alumni at Amazon to accommodate the visitor-to-employee ratio, and the study tour group was given access to the infamous Spheres and workplace.”

“There is an abundance of University of Alberta micro-communities, but if you don’t put yourself out there by reaching out to ask, you’d never know they even exist.”

Paying it Forward

Connecting with your alumni network is about more than just receiving a newsletter – it’s about giving back to continue building a vibrant and connected alumni community for generations to come.

“Volunteering with the Business Alumni Association has been a great gateway for me to make connections locally and abroad, especially during the pandemic. Thanks to savvy advice from fellow alumna Jessica Ireland, who lives in Toronto and works at Benevity, I’ve been fortunate to secure an exciting new role with this prominent tech firm based out of Calgary. I have since met with dozens of alumni and continue to pay forward the time, advice, and empathy that so many alumni have afforded me. I’m a true believer that the more you give, the more you’ll gain. Lift as you climb, and pave the way for others to grow our shared network. Be an alumnus or alumna who offers camaraderie to new members of your alumni community in your city.”

Are you ready to explore the opportunities within your alumni network? It might lead to more than just great pizza!