On Feb. 25, 2017, the Design Careers Club hosted the third Annual Alumni Networking Day, sponsored by the Department of Design. The event was a tremendous success, capping over 100 attendees – including faculty, students and alumni. The event was not only an opportunity for students to make connections, but a grand reunion for many faculty members and alumni, as old friends reconnected.

The event started off with three Keynote presentations from design alumni. The first speaker, Rosa Chou, emphasized the importance of building relationships in the field of design. Chou’s presentation was followed by Evan Lessler, sharing his experience working in the design field and establishing his company, Adapt. Closing the keynote presentations, Charlie Stabb took us through the design process of rebranding Zendesk.

Following the keynote presentations, co-director Dani Macedo and DCC club member Kayana Leung led a panel discussion with nine incredible design alumni – their graduation dates ranging from just last year to 1996! The panel included Tiffany Trieu, Sydney Patterson, Samantha Block, Lucian Novosek, Nicole Fogarty, Amie Gutierrez, Laurie Harris, Matt Stevenson and Charlie Stabb. The panelists provided unique perspectives, helpful insight on life after graduation and personal anecdotes reflecting on their own journeys as designers.

With the remaining hour, the energetic atmosphere carried through to the end of the event. The room was filled with intimate conversations as well as a joyful celebration of our design community. Many left the event carrying with them POP UP shop treasures including handmade toys, original art and student club merchandise.

This rewarding event was made possible with the support of the UC Davis Department of Design, the generous donation from Julie and Randy Merk, and our sponsors Geojango and Kind Bars. The Design Careers Club would like to thank Susan Taber Avila for being a supervisor and mentor for Alumni Networking Day and hope that the department continues to support more of these kinds of events in the future!

Join us: facebook.com/designcareersclub