A Stroll Down Memory Lane: Corvinus Alumni Day Leaves Lasting Impressions

Held on November 28th in the grand Aula, the event brought together 100 graduates from across 6 generations, as far back as 1964 all the way to the fresh graduates of 2023, creating an atmosphere of nostalgia and celebration. Participants were greeted by familiar faces and embraced the opportunity to reconnect with old friends and professors while forming new connections and making new friends during the evening. 

This bilingual event was opened by our Vice President, Stakeholder Engagement, Dr. Serge Sych, who encouraged our alumni get involved and give some of their time and talent back to their university. The welcome address by Dr Anthony Radev, President, highlighted the University’s recent achievements and future plans, and the power of alumni in contributing to these. Alumni representing different generations and walks of life then shared their inspiring stories, providing valuable insights and showcasing the diverse paths our graduates have taken over the years post-graduation. 

Our first speaker, Gyula Jobbágy, graduating in 1976, reminisced about their “Közgáz klub” days and highlighted the importance of community service and Corvinus brand promotion through initiatives targeting the future Corvinus generations that he is currently involved in. For our second speaker, Barbara Kovács, the Corvinus journey started far earlier than her Finance student days, with both of her parents having graduated from – and indeed met at – Corvinus University, along with her husband, inlaws and siblings! Beyond this strong connection, she has been a key figure in successful female leadership initiatives and looks forward to encouraging more alumni to volunteer as career mentors to support the current generation of Corvinus students. The third speaker of the evening, Deniz Giyik, a fresh international graduate from the Department of Communications & Media, shared a keen interest in engaging our international student body, including those that receive the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship. We look forward to working together with them and all our other wonderful alumni volunteers to benefit our community. 

The evening was filled with laughter, shared memories, and a sense of pride in the collective sense of belonging to this institution. There were various interactive activities incorporated into the program, such as a slideshow featuring snapshots from the past, a human Bingo activity where participants could win some fun Corvinus memorabilia, as well as color-coded generational tags around tables to help our alumni find their old peers more easily. It was evident that the bonds formed during their University days had not diminished, as alumni celebrated their shared experiences. 

In addition to fostering connections, this event also served as an opportunity for our Alumni & Careers Team to get a better understanding of the ways in which our alumni would like to give back to their alma mater, whether that be through mentoring, student recruitment, community service, event organization or fundraising. We will be following up with all those who are keen on getting involved and look forward to showcasing the ongoing commitment of our alumni in the new year. 

A huge thank you to everyone who joined the event, we can’t wait to see even more of you at next year’s Corvinus Alumni Day to continue the tradition of celebrating shared memories and successes!