(Courtesy of Touro University) Maintaining a high GPA is critical to success in college, but networking skills are key to professional and career success. At Touro’s Lander College for Men (LCM), students are primed for both. Top academics are combined with opportunities to interact with alumni who are excelling in their fields. Last week, dozens of dedicated alumni returned to Lander to share their professional experiences with 150 current students.

Over the course of “Lander Career Week,” students attended dinners with accomplished LCM alumni in various professions including medicine, law, accounting, dentistry, finance, computer science, psychology, actuarial studies and engineering. Students received real world advice about their future careers and had the opportunity to ask alumni about their personal career paths, their college and graduate school experiences, and the lessons they learned on the job. Practical guidance on preparing for job interviews, work-life balance and managing professional and religious commitments were also shared.

“I come back to Lander College for Men to pay forward the career advice and direction that I was fortunate to get from the alumni network when I was a student. I have immense gratitude to be counted among the ranks of students that LCM has successfully sent off into the workforce,” said Jason Appleson, CFA, managing director, head of municipal bonds, PGIM Fixed Income.

“Lander students continue to set standards in their respective disciplines. The students display the full suite of desirable characteristics that employers look for, including hard working, motivated and capable. Who knows, one day I might be working for one of them!” continued Appleson.

Accounting majors heard from seasoned auditors, consultants and tax professionals and “learned the benefits of working hard at the start of our careers to ensure our future success as well as what it’s like to be a Jew working in a non-Jewish environment,” said future CPA Noam Zimmerman.

Pre-med students learned about resume building, MCAT studying, student loans, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and the all-important medical school interviews. According to Dr. Noam Lax, a neurologist, “getting into medical school is definitely the hardest part of the entire process, from undergraduate all the way through attending physician.”

Dr. Coby Dorfman, who attended Touro’s New York Medical College after Lander and is now a pediatric resident at Westchester Medical Center, seconded Lax’s comments.

The physicians shared advice on choosing medical schools and residencies based upon Shabbos and Yom Tov accommodations. They and other health science alumni throughout the week discussed the pathways from Touro’s Lander Colleges to the university’s respected graduate and professional programs.

Pre-dental student Yosef Aronov was thrilled by the opportunity to connect with alumni Dr. Seth Faigen and Dr. Andrew Lermer. “We discussed everything from maintaining a work-life balance to dealing with patients and running a successful practice. Dr. Faigen’s analogy about running a marathon — where ‘you don’t need to trip others to win, you just need to run faster’ — really struck a chord. It reminded us that in dentistry, helping each other out doesn’t take away from our own success; it actually helps us all win. So, while we focus on our studies and exams, we should also lend a hand to our peers, knowing that together we can all thrive in this profession.”

Matan Schiller, also a pre-dental student, appreciated tips alumni shared for gaining acceptance into dental school, such as “learning Spanish, being involved with extracurriculars, and ultimately making sure to be well-rounded individuals.”

Jodi Smolen, career services director at Touro’s Lander College for Men, says Lander career week is invaluable for students. “Alumni come back to campus, connect with current students, and provide real-time advice about what is happening in their industries. Students gain a better understanding of what to expect regarding work-life balance, what skills are truly important and how to advance their careers.”