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DCU Alumni
Seattle Lunch

Alumni Reunion Lunch in Seattle

DCU graduate and member of our Alumni Council Ciara Cronin writes about co - hosting a reunion lunch with President Dáire Keogh in the US.

On June 5, I had the pleasure of co-hosting an alumni lunch in Seattle with President Dáire Keogh. Dáire was in Seattle as part of a delegate representing Fingal Council. During their time in the region, the group met with local representatives to research best practices for fostering economic growth including “business clustering” and intentionally designed corridors to support university and local business connectivity.

The DCU alumni lunch was held at Ben Paris at the State Hotel. Dáire and I were joined by two other DCU alumni; Tony Brady, who graduated from the Computer Applications programme in 1986, and Pascale Yu who spent two years at DCU as part of her business degree with the Neoma Business School in France.

Over lunch, we had an opportunity to discuss our experiences at DCU and how our time at the university shaped our personal and professional journeys since graduation. Dáire also shared updates on recent changes at DCU, including the new Polaris building, upgrades to Morton Stadium, and additional student accommodation plans.

Alumni get-togethers with the Present are just one way DCU is committed to providing ways for alumni–both those based in Ireland and overseas–to remain connected to the university and fellow alumni. Another connection opportunity we discussed over lunch is the DCU Graduate to Student Mentorship Programme (my focus area on the DCU Alumni Council).
The programme pairs graduates with second year students to provide mentorship for personal and career development over the course of the academic year. It is an incredibly rewarding experience for graduates and mentees alike. The 2023-24 programme will be accepting mentor and mentee applicants again this September.

Additionally, fellow Alumni Council member, Lauren Pompey, will be initiating more opportunities for overseas alumni to connect in person, including an upcoming meetup in Washington DC, which Lauren will be leading, as well as one in NYC this fall which I will be hosting.

I would like to thank President Keogh for taking the time to meet with us during his first visit to Seattle. It was wonderful to connect with fellow DCU alumni and to learn more about the university. I am looking forward to continuing to connect with DCU alumni stateside over the coming months and engaging again in the Graduate to Student Mentorship Programme.

For questions regarding the mentorship programme, feel free to contact me via LinkedIn.

Ciara Cronin is Director of Public Relations and Communications at Olson Kundig, a leading architecture and design firm with offices in Seattle and NYC. She is a graduate of the BA in International Business & Languages programme, is actively involved as a mentor with the DCU Graduate to Student Mentorship Programme and recently joined the Alumni Council to focus on initiatives in support of that specific programme.