professional development
Thanks to alumni looking to give back to BAP, our members have the opportunity to network with industry professionals and build meaningful relationships. Find out below about the different ways Alumni contribute to professional development, such as through mentorship and speaker panels.
Lynnette Lu
Actuarial Associate at PwC
Rush Class: Fall 2018
Kaia Hsu
Actuarial Science and Communications Sophomore
Rush Class: Spring 2022
What were your expectations for the mentorship program before it started?
Kaia Hsu
I was expecting to have a small casual conversation with my pen pal during the course of a semester. I thought it was going to be just about school and work.
Lynnette Lu
My expectations for the mentorship program were that I would be exchanging emails, texting, or videocalling my mentee on a monthly basis. I didn't expect too much of a time commitment either.
What were some of the things discussed during the mentorship?
Kaia Hsu
We talked about what she did for her job, which I found really interesting. We also talked about our dogs, and plans that we both had for trips or for school/work related things. She told me about some of her work outings that she had.
Lynnette Lu
We discussed career pathways, classes and exams to take, personal life like hobbies and interests.
Kaia Hsu
What did you learn from the experience?
I learned about her work practice, and it helped me figure out what I wanted to do in the future as well. Her job sounded very interesting, and she was the same major as me. I learned a lot about being full-time and what it entails to be working at a big 4 company.
How have you applied your mentor's advice in your academic/professional career?
Kaia Hsu
She helped me decide what I wanted to do for my future especially what field I should look into. It also helped shape what side of Actuarial Science I wanted to pursue.
Did you have any mentorship while in BAP? If so, what was the experience like?
Lynnette Lu
I did, I had a mentor and informal mentors who helped with career advice and resume reviews. It was very helpful as it got me my full-time job (where I still am right now). It was casual in that all I had to do was message / meet up with upperclassmen in BAP and they gave me their honest advice on job and intern recruiting.
Lynnette Lu
What motivated you to take on a mentee?
I really enjoyed my experience in BAP during undergrad and felt that the mentorship I received there helped me greatly after graduation! I wanted to give back to BAP and stay connected to the organization.
One of our tech-focused panels this past semester! We've also had a consulting panel, and we're looking forward to more opportunities to connect with industry professionals in the future.
