For many students, graduation marks the start of the rest of their lives.

However, this transition is not easy for many students, and they wish to stay connected with college, fellow students, or other graduates.

Alumni Relations, part of the Office of Advancement at George Brown College (GBC), is a hub for supporting the more than 280,000 graduates, and helping them to stay connected years after they leave their classes behind.

Following the opening of GBC in 1968, Alumni Relations opened not long after the first set of graduates crossed the stage.

Krisztina Arany, director of advancement and alumni engagement at GBC, says, “We are here to represent graduates [and to] advocate for graduates and support them in their stages of careers, and stages of their lives. It could be they come back right after graduation, or somebody could return to us and become a closer member of the network many years after graduating.”

Alongside connecting students together, Alumni Relations offer some services and benefits for alumni, such as webinars, events, career services, and alumni benefits.

“We have different webinars, and we are currently working on five career development workshops. We’re in our second cohort of that. They touch on different careers,” Carmel Drumgoole, manager of Alumni Relations & Engagement, notes.

The benefit includes discounts, resources, and facilities on campus such as the library, campus stores, and athletics and recreation.

The process of membership is easy. Students can visit the alumni page on the GBC website and fill out the sign-up form. It is recommended that students use their personal email since the GBC email expires one year after graduation.

This year, Alumni Relations in alignment with the GBC roadmap to the future: vision 2030, strategy 2026, and lead value of GBC, offers Alumni Recognition awards to honour alumni for their leadership, contributions, and impact.

“We had five different categories. We invited people to nominate alumni in these various categories. Then we did shortlists. So, we will have two alumni in each category, and they will be celebrated on the alumni recognition awards,” said Drumgoole.

The five categories are entrepreneur, innovation, leadership, mentor, and impact awards, celebrating alumni who’ve significantly enhanced the community and college reputation.

The celebration will be held in May.