Rising senior Mirabella Johnson knows Northwestern University boasts a vast, powerful alumni community – and she hasn’t been shy about tapping into that network of some 80,000 Wildcats for guidance.
Since arriving on campus in 2021, the Chicago area native has leveraged various mentorship programs and networking opportunities to engage with alumni and learn about their diverse adventures. It’s provided Johnson with valuable perspective on career possibilities, post-graduate life, and maximizing her Northwestern experience.
Mirabella Johnson
“Each conversation I’ve had with an alum has provided me with new perspectives and greater knowledge,” says Johnson, a cognitive science and global health studies double major.
For Johnson and her fellow Northwestern undergrads, access to alumni is about to get a boost with the debut of Ask a Wildcat.
An artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tool from Weinberg College’s Waldron Student-Alumni Connections Program, Ask a Wildcat aims to connect students seeking thoughtful advice on college and career matters with alumni who can dispense wisdom, viewpoints, and counsel to help shape students’ experiences at – and beyond – Northwestern.
Scaling student-alumni connections
Since its 2013 pilot launch, the Waldron Connections Program has linked current Northwestern students to alumni through various programming efforts, including panel discussions, industry-specific conversations, professional skills development workshops, and career treks to Chicago area businesses.
With an assist from AI, Ask a Wildcat amplifies those efforts.
Students simply enter the platform, share some basic information about themselves, and pose a question about anything related to school, career, or post-Northwestern life. Thereafter, the Ask a Wildcat tool uses AI to identify potential respondents before sending an email directly to those selected individuals.
The alum receiving the query then has three options: to respond, which could include arranging a phone call or meeting; to pass; or to share the inquiry with a colleague. The goal, Waldron Connections Program director Cassie Petoskey says, is for every student to receive 2-3 alumni responses to a given query.
“The arts and sciences background often leads students to having vague questions. When you don’t know who to ask or where to go for information, it can make getting started in exploring your career options very challenging,” Petoskey says.
“With Ask a Wildcat, students can put in an ambiguous question and the tech does the hard work of finding alumni capable of answering their question. The tool helps us scale the type of unique, customized student-alumni experiences we want to provide.”
Launching September 18
Rising senior Lauren Malenfant participated in early beta testing of Ask a Wildcat and found the tool intuitive and packed with valuable resources, such as how to best pose questions and crafting a thank you note. While Malenfant has engaged with alumni through her involvement with clubs like the Undergraduate Economics Society, she says Ask a Wildcat expands the pool of alumni with whom she might connect.
Lauren Malenfant
“When you can engage directly with alumni, when you can hear their perspective and stories, you begin to understand what the future could hold,” says Malenfant, a double major in economics and political science.
The Waldron Connections Program will introduce Ask a Wildcat to Northwestern’s undergraduate community on September 18 in conjunction with its annual Weinberg College Career Summit. The event highlights career exploration resources available at Northwestern and will feature talks from Weinberg College Dean Adrian Randolph and Waldon Student-Alumni Connections Program benefactor Austin Waldron ’78 as well as hour-long virtual sessions focused on different industries.
“There’s so much at Northwestern and Weinberg College to support students on their journey,” Petoskey says. “The Career Summit will help students understand the resources on campus and introduce Ask a Wildcat as a great follow-up tool for their continued exploration.”
Expanding the potential connections
The Waldron Connections Program developed Ask a Wildcat in conjunction with Protopia – a tech company that partners with universities to facilitate student and alumni connections – and various campus partners, including Northwestern Career Advancement, the Northwestern Alumni Association, and Weinberg’s academic advisors.
In using AI, Ask a Wildcat injects fast-moving, efficiency-driving technology into a once-cumbersome process.
When students would previously desire alumni input on a topic – the career prospects of a specific major, pursuing job opportunities, or pivoting from an existing major, for instance – Petoskey and her team manually searched for potential respondents. Too often, Petoskey admits, her team’s work was limited by the alumni they knew.
“And honestly, we didn’t know who we didn’t know,” Petoskey says.
Ask a Wildcat, however, extends the Waldron Connections Program’s reach further into the alumni community and promises to unlock more dynamic engagement between Wildcats past and present.
Natasha Phillips ’00
Students grappling with career choices, nervous about their futures, or unaware of opportunities can receive earnest information from alumni who were once in their shoes. Meanwhile, alumni, some of whom might have been disconnected from the University, have a streamlined, straightforward way to remain engaged with Northwestern and share their wisdom and experience.
“By leveraging technology, we’re going to be creating connections that weren’t possible before, which should impact students in a positive way,” says Natasha Phillips ’00, a member of the Waldron Connections Program Alumni Council. “It’s a new way for alumni to be involved with Northwestern and to help enliven the experience of current students.”
An opportunity to give – and receive – help
Remembering what it’s like to be uncertain about the future and where to turn for credible perspective, Waldron Connections Program Alumni Council member Parris Caffey ’03 says Ask a Wildcat can provide reassurance to students at a critical, often overwhelming time.
Parris Caffey ’03
“Surrounded by bright students in a competitive environment, it can be nerve-wracking to not have it all figured out, but that’s okay. With this new platform, alumni like myself have a chance to share our experiences, encourage students, and help them shape their path,” says Caffey, a former economics major whose career in advertising has included turns at ESPN, Fox, and, most recently, Reddit.
For Phillips, a one-time sociology major who benefitted from an advisor at Northwestern and early career mentors helping her map out her career, Ask a Wildcat allows her to “pay it forward.” She hopes to provide students concrete action steps to tackle a problem, whether it’s investigating graduate school or improved networking.
“My hope whenever I encounter a student is that I can share specific advice to enrich their time at Northwestern and help them create an exciting and challenging life after they leave the University,” says Phillips, who now works in global marketing at Abbott.
As for Johnson, having increased access to alumni as she embarks upon her final undergraduate year is particularly enticing as she contemplates life beyond Northwestern. She’s excited to use Ask a Wildcat to ask questions about career paths for students who majored in cognitive science or global health, salary negotiations, and specific initiatives alumni used to grow as young professionals.
“Ask a Wildcat makes it extremely convenient for us students to start these important conversations,” Johnson says.