Bob Greenberger

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January 05, 2005

Dining Out

Last night, Deb and I attended Binghamton University’s annual Alumni Career Night. Normally, it’s a chance for juniors and seniors to network with alumni in a wide variety of professions. I’ve been doing this for about a decade and while I haven’t hired anyone, did secure a number of people with internships at DC.

This year, BU tried something different. They took a program that has been met with success and adapted it to New York. We had a business dinner with the interested students so they could practice social interaction as appropriate to the business world. They had to show up in business attire and during the meal we could network, answer questions and help guide them through the reception and meal. There was also a speaker addressing the general dining etiquette issues.

The event was held at the New York Academy of Science and the lobby boasted a display of science fiction artwork from the likes of Michael Whelan and Wayne Barlow so I was fascinated. A bronze cast from the original mold for the Creature of the Black Lagoon’s head stood on a pedestal next to the coatroom. It made a very nice impression on me.

During the “mocktail” hour, I found one student standing alone, thrust out a hand and began talking. Within minutes, I was surrounded by four students, with four different sets of interests and covered some broad ground. Upon hearing I work at DC Comics, the conversation quickly turned from “what can you do for me?” to “is Batman Begins going to be good?” which I found amusing. (And, spotting my Mets lapel pin, got into side discussions over the merits of signing Carlos Beltran.)

We were ushered into the main dining area and found ourselves assigned to tables organized by field of interest. Deb and I shared a table, designed for 10, each of us to speak with four students interested in what we do. However, as all the other tables filled up, my end of the table was empty while Deb sat across from one somewhat nervous young lady.

The event organizers were apologetic given the no shows and the luck of the draw that it all happened at our table. The Alumni Director decided to sit with me and we chitchatted, eventually turning into the four of us discussing any number of topics. So, for Amelie Wong, she got extra attention. Me, I got a nice meal and time with my wife.

The program’s goals are excellent and I strongly wish such post-graduation prep were available when we left BU lo these many years ago.

Posted by Bob Greenberger at January 5, 2005 02:45 PM

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Posted by: Michael A. Burstein at January 5, 2005 05:54 PM