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Student & Alumni Connection

Expand your network and gain insights from U of T alumni

How the program works:

Connect with current students and alumni through opportunities for career development and community building. Throughout the year, Career Exploration & Education hosts a variety of events and workshops that aim to bridge the gap between generations of U of T members, empowering everyone to share their experiences, insights, and career journeys.

Event types:

As a student and recent graduate (up to 2 years after graduation) at the University of Toronto, you can attend these events and connect with alumni and industry professionals from a wide range of industries with valuable experience, diverse skillsets, and career advice.

As a University of Toronto graduate, you have valuable experience to share with our students. We hope that you will be part of the networking events to:

  • Help shape the careers of students and young alumni by sharing your wealth of knowledge and experience.
  • Build your networking of other U of T alumni and students community.

If you are an alumnus looking to give back to the U of T community, we invite you to volunteer with different career exploration programs. You can share your expertise, connect with fellow alumni, and support current students in their career journeys. Your insights and experiences can make a difference!

Complete the volunteer interest form.

Program Registration:

Sign up for events on CLNx or through the upcoming event links in each section.

Student & Alumni Networking Events

Join Student & Alumni Networking events to expand your network, gain valuable insights, and contribute to a thriving community of lifelong learners and leaders. Each academic year, we host career networking events dedicated to supporting students and alumni from equity-deserving communities.

2SLGBTQ+ Student & Alumni Career Networking Night

Are you a 2SLGBTQ+ U of T student ready to kickstart your career with confidence? Don’t miss this exclusive chance to connect with inspiring 2SLGBTQ+ alumni from across industries who are eager to share the real stories behind their success! Get firsthand advice on job searching, tackling career challenges, and making bold moves toward your goals.

Your evening includes:

  • Delicious hors d’oeuvres and refreshing non-alcoholic beverages
  • Fun, interactive ice-breakers to spark new connections

Thursday, February 5, 2026 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Register on the U of T Alumni website.

Past Events

Black Students & Alumni Career Networking Night

Networking Tips

For tips on how to make the most of these networking events, check out these networking guides:

Student & Alumni Skill Building Workshops

Enhance your career skills. These workshops feature U of T alumni offering practical guidance on both technical and transferable skills. Join other students and recent graduates in gaining skills beyond the classroom, actionable insights and resources for both personal and professional development.

Upcoming Workshops

Money Management Essentials

Date: Friday, February 27, 2026
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Register on CLNx

Managing money can feel overwhelming at any stage of your postsecondary journey, whether you’re still in school balancing tuition, part-time work, and daily expenses, or you’re preparing to graduate and take on new responsibilities like rent, bills, and full-time employment. This workshop breaks financial management down into simple, practical steps to help both current students and recent graduates strengthen your financial confidence.

Through relatable examples and easy-to-use tools, participants will explore the essentials of budgeting, saving, credit, and debt. You’ll learn how to create a realistic budget, build an emergency fund (even on a student income), understand how credit scores work, and avoid common financial pitfalls. The session also highlights resources, strategies, and habits that can help you prepare for financial independence whether you’re planning ahead for life after graduation or navigating your first year in the workforce.

By the end of the workshop, you’ll leave with clear next steps you can take immediately to better manage your money, reduce stress, and build a strong foundation for your financial future.

Building Impact Early in Your Career

Date: Thursday, March 19, 2026
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Register on CLNx

The way we work is changing fast. AI and other emerging technologies are rewriting the rules of what one person can do, and employers are taking notice. In small startup’s, or innovation teams in large companies, a single hire can now design, build, and launch projects that once took entire departments.

This is the new reality for early-career professionals: you’re not just hired for one skill; you’re valued for your ability to adapt, connect the dots, and deliver results from start to finish. It’s the same mindset that drives successful entrepreneurs, even if you’re not starting your own business.

In this interactive session, Chaerin Song will share how she went from a single-function data role in a large telecom to becoming the multi-skill problem solver at a fast-moving, 10-person health-tech company.

Watch past workshop recordings on YouTube

Check out Student & Alumni Skill Building workshop recordings to learn new skills on demand.

Featured alumni

Photo of Tshego Kelesitse

Tshego Kelesitse

HBSc ’24

Tshego is a strategic and proactive thinker, currently working as a Technology and Delivery Analyst at Mackenzie Investments as part of their Rotational Program. With a strong foundation in Statistics and Psychology, she brings a dual lens to problem-solving, combining analytical rigor with human-centered insight to deliver impactful solutions.

Awarded a full merit scholarship to the University of Toronto, Tshego holds an Honors Bachelor’s degree in Statistics and Psychology. Her academic excellence and curiosity for data have shaped her ability to transform complex challenges into actionable strategies.
In her professional journey, Tshego has contributed to diverse projects, including developing strategic roadmaps, coordinating enterprise architecture week, and collaborating with the Application Delivery team to deliver technical solutions. This journey has equipped her with robust analytical, project management, and organizational skills.

Beyond her professional pursuits, Tshego is passionate about advocating for education and supporting student success. Through her involvement with programs like Pursue STEM, she champions opportunities for underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering, and math, striving to inspire the next generation to pursue careers in the sciences, break barriers, challenge norms, and embrace their unique potential.

Profile Picture of Chaerin Song

Chaerin Song

HBSc ’23

Chaerin Song (HBSc ’23) runs the entire data function for a nationwide digital health platform serving more than half a million users. After Hims and Hers, the global leading D2C Healthtech company, acquired Montreal-based startup Livewell in 2025, Chaerin became the company’s first data leader in the country, responsible for building everything from predictive models and analytics systems to data-driven decision frameworks that shape how the Canadian business is operated.

Her role spans work that would traditionally be owned by multiple teams. In a single week, she may build executive dashboards, design data engineering pipelines, train marketing and growth models, define experimentation and A/B testing metrics, and work directly with senior leaders in both Canada and the US to set long-term data strategy. She operates at the intersection of executor and strategist, translating raw data into decisions that influence C-level direction while still building the systems herself.

Chaerin’s path did not follow a traditional or credential-driven trajectory. She was not a top student, did not attend graduate school, and did not start her career at a top-tier tech company. Instead, she focused on becoming useful by learning to communicate with decision-makers, choosing environments where ownership mattered, aiming beyond defined scopes of responsibility, and treating every role as an experiment in high-impact problem-solving. At Bell Canada, she stood out as one of the only data scientists without a Master’s degree and earned the highest employee performance review for four consecutive quarters. She later joined Livewell as part of an 8-person team, where her work immediately shaped the company’s data enablement and decision-making infrastructure. Chaerin graduated from the University of Toronto in 2023 with a degree in Statistics and minors in Computer Science and Economics. She is passionate about helping students and early-career professionals see that meaningful impact does not come from perfect resumes or predictable paths, but from intentional skill-building, the right environments, and the willingness to step into roles before feeling fully ready.

Other networking and career exploration programs

Aside from the Student & Alumni Networking events, you can sign up to be part of the U of T hub on Ten Thousand Coffee, a free and online networking platform that you can connect with more than 14,000 alumni and fellow students.

You can check out other career exploration programs such as Career X, Job Shadowing, In the Field and Identities @ Work.