Before the senior class sports their caps and gowns when walking down the aisle for commencement ceremonies, Point Park will honor the class of 2018 one last time through annual senior week events.

“Point Park was my first choice, and the cinema program was really appealing to me,” senior cinema production major Alec D’Alesandro said. “It’s scary being a senior now that the real world starts, but Point Park has prepared me to do what I want to do after school.”

Festivities for the week kicked off Monday afternoon in the Lawrence Hall lobby. Participating seniors had a chance to claim alumni t-shirts and tickets for the upcoming events. Free popcorn was provided, and students had the chance to take photos with school mascot Black Diamond.

Following kick-off ceremonies, the Office of Career Development hosted a senior week networking reception Tuesday night at the Downtown restaurant Revel & Roost.

“We want seniors to be able to learn and feel comfortable networking with professionals,” Director of Career Development Angela Scaramucci said. “Whether it’s in their field or outside the field, they’re networking with alumni who have been in their shoes.”

Arranged by the Office of Alumni Relations, director of Alumni Engagement Jen Moritz united interested alumni and employers from the Pittsburgh area to join the seniors for the evening.   

“It’s a great informal way of networking and an opportunity to talk with employers, and even just get to know other alumni before graduation,” Moritz said.

Held on the second floor of the restaurant, students were served a number of hors d’oeuvres and beverages provided by Revel & Roost. Students and alumni spent two hours conversing with each of their time at Point Park, post-graduate life and their experience entering the professional work field.

“We want the students to network with alumni and employers in case they currently are looking to hire so it could possibly even lead to a job for the seniors,” Scaramucci said.

Employers in attendance included the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Magazine, LionHeart Event Group, BNY Mellon and GNC.

“All the alumni are employed somewhere as well so that can open up opportunities as well,” Scaramucci said.

Festivities will resume this afternoon in the Lawrence Hall lobby from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. with “Cap It Off!” Seniors are welcome to stop by throughout the afternoon as they will be provided art supplies to decorate their graduation cap.

To conclude festivities for the week, seniors will have the opportunity to ride on the Gateway Clipper.

“I haven’t been on the Gateway Clipper since I was a little kid to see Santa, so Thursday will be exciting for me,” senior broadcast reporting major Bill Steinbach said.

Tickets for seniors are $10 and can be purchased in the Office of Student Life. Guests are also allowed to purchase tickets for $20.

“Getting to ride around the city of Pittsburgh is fun, but there is always some type of performance that Point Park puts on, so I’m really excited to see that,” senior sports arts and entertainment management senior Joseph Tischler said.

For seniors like D’Alesandro, the Gateway Clipper boat ride ends his Point Park career full circle as he participated in the boat trip freshman year during convocation
ceremonies.

“It was a lot of fun then and the Impulse performance was amazing. I’m excited to wrap everything up in this way,” D’Alesandro said.

The 2018 senior class will graduate at the PPG Paints Arena April 29.