SUNY Oswego alumni return to campus to give advice on adulting life

OSWEGO, N.Y. — SUNY Oswego’s Future Alumni Network hosted an “Adulting 101” panel in Marano Campus Center where past and recent alumni offered advice on adult life after college.

Keonna Wren, a recent 2021 alum and Shift Supervisor at Elmcrest Children’s Center, shared her advice on networking.

“Networking does not have to be transactional,” Wren said. “It also does not have to be your whole life. My motto is, ‘just be you.’ I’m Keonna everywhere I go. I’m here, I’m Keonna. Tomorrow I’m Keonna. I’ll never be not me, and I think as long as you are authentic to yourself and genuine, networking does not have to be transactional.” 

Jake Berg, a 2004 alum and Director of Investment at Indeed.com, also delved into salary negotiations for new jobs. 

“So give that information up front, and if someone doesn’t want to tell you that, then that’s not going to be a place you want to work either,” Berg said. “So that means when you get promoted, it’s gonna be the same situation.”

There was a shared idea among the panelists that students should find a balance between networking, student loan payments, and one’s personal life.

Kailene McKay, a 2014 alum and Program Manager at Amerit Fleet Solutions, reinforced the idea. 

“There’s lots of values that you have in your life, and there’s lots of things that you are as a human being that are pretty incredible that don’t have anything to do with you and your career, and what you do as a profession,” McKay said.

To contact the alumni directly, they can be found on Indeed.com.