The Low Down

In 2016, the Columbia University Trustees and the Columbia Alumni Association (CAA) established The Campbell Award, which is presented to a graduating student at each School who shows exceptional leadership and Columbia spirit as exemplified by the late Bill Campbell '62CC, '64TC, Chair Emeritus, University Trustee and CAA co-founder.

Read below to learn about this year's recipients. Congratulations to these new Columbia alumni!

Each year, hundreds of alumni offer their inspiring advice to the newest Columbia graduates. Read on for some highlights from this year's Grad Grams campaign. Congratulations, Class of 2018!

By Melody Wilding '11SW of the Columbia Career Coaches Network
This article originally appeared on MelodyWilding.com

Think about the last time you felt fear and anxiety take control of your day. Maybe it stopped you from speaking up in a meeting because you felt like your opinion wasn't worthwhile. Perhaps a simple email took you hours to write because your inner critic kept telling you it wasn’t good enough—that you weren’t good enough.

Read on for the latest events and news from your alumni community.

By Alveena Bakhshi '03SIPA

Bakhshi, a finance and technology expert, is an advocate for Child Soldiers International, a group that aims to end all recruitment, use, and exploitation of children by armed forces. She also is an adviser to the School of International of Public Affairs (SIPA) Dean's Public Policy Challenge Grant. In a follow-up to her 2017 piece about her work with the organization, she shares details about the latest technology the group is using in its efforts.

Here's the latest news and events in your Columbia alumni community.

The close partnership between newly-appointed Columbia University Board of Trustees Co-Chairs Lisa Carnoy '89CC and Jonathan Lavine '88CC spans more than half of their lives.

By Caroline Ceniza-Levine '93BC of the Columbia Career Coaches Network
This article originally appeared on Forbes and SixFigureStart.com

I still emphasize the importance of thank you notes after 20+ years of teaching job search skills at an Ivy League graduate school (and I've taught through both boom and bust hiring markets). Thank you notes after a job interview, or general networking meeting, keep you front-of-mind with the people you meet. Thank you notes continue the momentum from your discussion and can even add to the momentum when you include additional thoughts and ideas.

Get the latest news from your alumni community in this week's Low Down roundup.

Graduation is just around the corner, and soon we will be welcoming a new class of Columbians to the alumni community. 

Columbia's Commencement program dates back about 260 years, and the iconic Morningside campus outdoor ceremony began in 1926. By tradition, the Commencement speaker is the University president, while many of the schools within Columbia have keynote speakers at their individual ceremonies -- and most give that distinction only to alumni.

From Barack Obama to Caroline Kennedy, check out our selection of great quotes from Columbia graduation addresses below. 

Leave your words of wisdom for the Class of 2018 by sharing a Grad Gram, and have the chance to get your inspiring advice featured on Columbia Alumni Association social media!

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