A room full of Blue Hose – both new and vintage – gathered to chat and network Tuesday for Presbyterian College’s eighth annual “Mocktails and Mingling.”

Sponsored by the college’s Office of Career and Professional Development, the spring event offers current students an opportunity to hone their networking skills and meet new people.

“The purpose of this is to have a fun, informal, educational networking event where students can connect with a group of professionals,” said career and professional development director Kim Lane.

In years past, she said, the college invited representatives from surrounding businesses and included alumni, but this year exclusively welcomed alumni to meet with students. In all, 36 graduates met and mingled with approximately 60 students and engaged on a variety of topics, including careers, family, their own college experience, and sports.

“Thank you for coming back to campus and giving up your evening,” Lane told alumni. “We’re so happy to see you helping out and engaging our students.”

Associate director Lynn Downie acknowledged that current students may have been nervous at first.

“I would be, too,” she said. “But you know what? These people love you. They’re Blue Hose just like you.They have the same passion for PC and they want to be here for you.”

Precisely that spirit drove Dr. Darlene Maxwell ’73 and her husband, retired colonel Art Maxwell ’73, to return to campus.

“We wanted to come and meet some of these wonderful students and talk with them,” she said. “I myself am a retired professor of teacher education and I have worked with prospective teachers on learning how to network when they’re looking for positions in schools. Having taught across the country and abroad, it’s extremely important for students to know how to handle these types of situations.”

And learn they did. Brooks Russ-Martin, a senior from Greenville, said he enjoyed the opportunity to network.

“I’ve made great conversation and talked to a lot of alumni,” he said. “I love conversing and meeting new people. I definitely think it’s interesting hearing everyone’s backgrounds and how they found PC and how PC allowed them to make the connections that got them where they’re at now.”

Lextyn Petz, a junior from Columbia, said she also noticed alumni sharing what has changed and what hasn’t at PC.

“I noticed a big contrast between the earlier graduates and the later graduates,” she said. “Some of them had different experiences, but most of them were the same as us.”

Regardless of outcomes going forward, Lane said the networking sessions are beneficial to students.

“Networking is a competency,” she said. “It’s a skill that everyone needs to have over a lifetime, regardless of your career path. Whether you’re going to graduate school or not, you’re eventually going to get a job. Connecting with people wasn’t something I understood when I was a young person. My parents told me, and I learned it the hard way. I could have made my life a lot easier if I had networked earlier. It’s not intuitive. You have to practice it.”

Alumni Invitees

• Seth Cooper ‘23
• Col. (ret.) Stan Couey ‘79
• Jerius Duncan ‘20
• Avril Fennell ‘12
• Amanda Goode ‘03
• Bailey Harris ‘85
• (ret.) Wayne Harris ‘70
• Beth Johnson ‘99
• David Lake ‘83
• Kristie Leonard ‘89
• Merle Lindler ‘02
• (ret.) Art Maxwell ‘73
• Darlene Maxwell ‘73
• Mitchell Mercer ‘23
• Sara Moody ‘16
• Laura Nowell ‘15
• Barbara Oswald ‘01
• Tommy Parrish ‘81
• Greg Pearce ‘70
• Emma Reabold ‘13
• Stan Reid ‘74
• Jared Smiling ‘22
• Jackson Smith ‘13
• Jeff Smith ‘92
• Kim Smith ‘93
• Jerry Smith ‘50
• Deon Speaks ‘14
• Richard Taylor ‘14
• Robert Thomas ‘94
• David Underwood ‘05
• Sam Waters ‘66
• Blake West ‘20
• Joe Wideman ‘13
• Lilibet Wilkerson ‘70
• William Williamson ‘21
• Bailey Woolley ‘19