PirateConnect (pirateconnect.southwestern.edu) is your pathway to the Southwestern network – a space for the Southwestern University community to mentor and to be mentored. Within the PirateConnect platform, there are many forms of connecting and engaging with alumni, students, faculty, staff, and parents – through one-on-one outreach, Career Communities, Groups, or the Alumni Network Mentoring Program.

Upon joining PirateConnect, you have the opportunity to engage in discussion topics such as career exploration, choosing a major, navigating office culture, and general advice and networking. Students can refine their communication skills to effectively request and lead an informational interview using the Pathways tool. Through a step-by-step process of video lessons, reflective questions, and tasks for practice, Pathways provides students with a foundation of networking skills essential to success in a mentorship.

Southwestern student Ashley Jennings ’21 was the first student to complete her Pathway lesson on PirateConnect. Through the Alumni Network Mentoring Program and using the Pathway tool, she was able to connect with alumni within health-related industries, including medical students, practitioners, and alumni in malpractice law where she heard about their experiences and pathways to their own careers. 

“Alumni are eager and willing to share their experiences,” Ashley shares. While using the Pathway feature on PirateConnect, Ashley created a basis to build her professional network. She shared that Pathways has helped her prepare for the type of questions to ask, how to reach out, and send out a professional follow-up. 

Ashley recommends to her peers the use of the Pathway feature available on PirateConnect because it helps focus on your career industry of interest and opens other pathways for connecting with the Southwestern network. 

Please contact pirateconnect@southwestern.edu with questions pertaining to the PirateConnect platform, the Southwestern network, and Pathways feature. If you have not yet signed up to join PirateConnect, do so today at pirateconnect.southwestern.edu.