LOWELL, Mass. – UMass Lowell Athletics hosted its third annual River Hawk to River Hawk Women's Mentoring and Networking Night at Moloney Hall in University Crossing on April 11.
 
The event paired 18 alumnae from different UMass Lowell athletic programs and eras with 150 current River Hawk student-athletes. The Women's Mentoring and Networking Night aims to connect current student-athletes with successful former student-athletes from a variety of professions in the surrounding communities.
 
"Hosting an event like this during our 50th anniversary celebration of Title IX means a great deal," said Associate Athletic Director for Academics and Student-Athlete Services Alison Quandt Westgate. "Our student-athletes are incredibly lucky to be able to tap into the wisdom and knowledge of our incredible alumnae."
 
MaryBeth McKenney-Finn '92, a former UMass Lowell women's track and field athlete, spoke about how events like the mentoring night are representative of the transformation in the student-athlete experience in recent decades, most especially in women's athletics.
 
"Being here gives me a lot of pride as one of the first female track athletes at the school," explained McKenney-Finn. "When I started in 1986, we had maybe five or six women on the track team, so 30 years later to see this progression makes me very proud to have played a small part in that."
 
McKenney-Finn pulled from her own experiences to provide important advice to the current student-athletes throughout the night.
 
"Enjoy being a student and an athlete, doing both," she told them. "I feel like when I was a student, I didn't really have that advice. It was more either you have to be a nursing student or a track athlete, it wasn't encouraged to do both, so that's definitely a message that all athletes, but especially female student-athletes need to hear as they navigate through life and have careers and families. They can do both, they can do it all."
 
Ally Greene '15, a former softball standout and current website content manager at 3STEP Sports who was back on campus for her second consecutive River Hawk to River Hawk event, explained why taking part in events like these are so important to her as an alum.
 
"I think honestly the main thing that keeps me coming back is all the memories I have at UMass Lowell, and everything that the school and the athletic program have done for me," commented Greene. "I just want to give back to other student-athletes, and if they have a chance to meet some people and network, and we have a chance to help them in their career, I think that's an amazing opportunity and I am happy to be a part of it."
 
The current student-athletes had the opportunity to rotate tables to meet, network and learn from the alums throughout the course of the evening. Many had the opportunity to hear from women who played for the same team or who are working in an industry that they hope to pursue.
 
"I never really knew how to make a résumé, so asking about those and what to put on them was really helpful," said Megan Brockbank, a sophomore on the women's lacrosse team. "It was important to hear you just need to be yourself, because why would you want to be hired as anyone else anyways. It's very important to know your résumé is about you, and to not appeal to anyone else."
 
From résumé advice to interview tips to career paths and so much more in between, the current student-athletes left the event with new knowledge to draw from and connections to lean on.
 
"As a student-athlete, it means a bunch to know we have people that care about us beyond the court or the field," concluded Kaylen Banwareesingh, a junior on the women's basketball team. "They actually want to see us succeed in what we want to do in life and I really appreciate it."