Making a Connection

By Violet Rumble ’22, March 4, 2022

Annual Intercultural Career Connection alumni panel provides valuable insights.

Francesca Mendez, Tiffany Sanabia and Quandri Olanlege

Francesca Mendez ’18, Tiffany Sanabia ’18 and Quandri Olanlege ’18 shared insights from their professional careers.

(Photos from speakers' LinkedIn)

On February 15, the Ithaca College Office of Access, Opportunity, and Achievement; Office of Career Services; and Center for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Social Change (IDEAS) hosted the annual Intercultural Career Connection panel, where alumni spoke about navigating the professinal world as BIPOC.

Quandri Olanlege ’18, Francesca Mendez ’18, and Tiffany Sanabia ’18, connected with current IC students and talked about their time on South Hill. Among their insights were how they were able to make the most out of their time at IC through out-of-class opportunities.

“I ended up taking advantage of clinical research opportunities on campus, working with my professors directly to get to know their work, and decide if I want to do what my professors are doing later on in life,” said Mendez who is a senior product analyst at CVS Kidney Care. “I’m really grateful for the opportunities that I was able to utilize at IC.”

“By becoming more involved on campus, it forced me to get out of my shell. I think that helped me a lot when I started working, because I'm very much myself and it doesn't detract from who I am as a professional, if anything, it's a compliment to the work that we're doing.”

Francesca Mendez ’18

Sanabia, who is a paralegal in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, also highlighted professors as being influential, in particular Paula Ioanide, professor of comparative race and ethnicity studies at the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity.

“I noticed a lot of the work that she's doing in the local communities is exactly what I see myself doing long term,” Sanabia said. “So, when I think about what my visions are, and what I see myself doing… her impact has been everlasting.”

The speakers also reflected on the challenges of entering IC as first-generation students from different cultural backgrounds, noting that they found spaces on campus where they felt comfortable and could express their identity.

The panel provided audience members a chance to hear first-hand about the speakers' IC experience.

“By becoming more involved on campus, it forced me to get out of my shell,” added Mendez. “I think that helped me a lot when I started working, because I'm very much myself and it doesn't detract from who I am as a professional, if anything, it's a compliment to the work that we're doing.”

The panel also provided an opportunity for the alumni to candidly speak on their experience with “code-switching,” or briefly adapting one’s style of speech, appearance, behavior, and expression to fit in with a larger group in a professional environment.

“You have to understand the dynamic that you're in, and you have to understand why it is that way,” said Olanlege, who is an assistant director in executive education at Columbia Business School. “The reason why you feel uncomfortable in these spaces is because historically, they're not designed for you, and you need to understand that and it's important to have spaces like this, where we can talk about it so we can unpack and digest it all. But, while understanding that; why the way things are, it shouldn't be an excuse for you to not bring your whole self to work or in a professional setting. You just have to know how to how to present yourself.”

“Many minoritized students are building their social/cultural capital during their time at Ithaca College while also completing their coursework. This panel creates a space for engaging with POC alumni and learning about how one may navigate career spaces yet still honor their identities in the process.”

Angélica Carrington, director of the Center for IDEAS

For both the panelists and attendees, the impact of the panel was profound and that’s why the event continues to be an annual success.

“Intercultural Career Connection is a long-standing program at IC that brings PoC alumni back to engage with students over a professional panel that explores post-grad life, careers, and provides networking opportunities,” said Angélica Carrington, director of the Center for IDEAS. “Many minoritized students are building their social/cultural capital during their time at Ithaca College while also completing their coursework. This panel creates a space for engaging with POC alumni and learning about how one may navigate career spaces yet still honor their identities in the process.”