Alumni Gathering: Sharing Insights and Wisdom

“Be true to yourself and do something you’re passionate about.”

“Do not let others define you.”

“Your weaknesses are not permanent and can be worked on.”

“Go out of your comfort zone, make mistakes, and learn from them!”

These inspiring quotes come from our amazing alumni who traveled all the way from the US to return to campus and share their journeys, decisions, challenges, and tips after their time at Concordia.

On January 7th, we hosted an insightful panel discussion with 10 fantastic alumni speakers who addressed current Concordia students and parents. Some have already joined the workforce and forged successful careers, while others are still in college, pursuing their passions and exploring future professions. Let's get to know them a bit better:

Anthony Cheung C’13, UCLA, NBA Data Analytics Assistant Manager

Alexander Chen C’13, Brown University, Venture Investor at General Catalyst

Don Zheng C’13, Carnegie Mellon University, Senior Software Engineer at Aurora Innovation (Autonomous Trucks)

Austin Yang C’16, Fordham University, Freelance Theatre Technician

Sylvia Wu C’17, Clemson University, Currently a law student at Harvard Law School

Josh Ong C’21, USC, Incoming Deloitte Tech Consultant

Charles Wang C’21, University of Notre Dame, Business Analytics & Psychology

Cayden Chng C’24, Hamilton College, Creative Writing

Joshua Chin C’24, Purdue University, Political Science

Ella Ma C’24, Brown University, Biology

Reflecting on their high school days at Concordia, the alumni fondly recalled unique programs like National History Day, Applied Learning and AP courses, as well as sports events and extracurricular activities that were the backdrop to their joys and challenges during their formative years.

Here are some of the valuable tips they shared with us:

Finding your Passions:

“Don’t go with the flow. The beauty of life is that you gotta define your own path for yourself and figure out what you're interested in. If your friends are all into MUN but you couldn't care less about MUN, don't waste your time doing that.”

Impact of Concordia Classes & Extracurriculars:

“Theater was the defining activity of high school for me... it really changed my life. I started finding a passion for doing things well and doing things that I'm proud of, and that kind of bled over into my academic life as well.”

“The AL Business & Finance class gave me an opportunity to do something different from humanities or English AP classes, and it helped me figure out that I really like business.”

Career Development:

“I think regardless of what you do, if you're good at it, you'll be able to find a job and build a career off of it. I wouldn't overindex too much into a particular industry. People even my age, like 30-something-year-olds, are changing their minds and changing careers and still doing really well for themselves and finding success in many different ways.” 

A special thank you to our amazing alumni speakers for their time and insights with our students – it was a pleasure to have you!

In addition to that, on January 4th, a group of alumni gathered in San Francisco during the festive holiday season. Thanks to the support of our amazing alumni parents, the event was a huge success. Everyone had a chance to reconnect with each other and enjoyed the company of fellow Concordia community members!