Alumni Panels: Rise & Fall

As we were preparing to host our first speed networking event for Nepali students across Boston, I had this idea that hit me out of nowhere — what if we started something called the Alumni Panels?

I had already graduated by then, and most of my friends were a year or two out of school — working, figuring things out, building their lives. And I thought: What if those alumni could share what they’ve learned with current students? Not just career advice, but real talk — about life after graduation, identity, struggle, growth.

The idea was simple:
A Zoom session every week.
Three alumni each time.
Honest conversations.
No fluff.

It felt like a great initiative. And honestly, I still think it is.

But the reality of execution hit hard.
Coordinating speakers every week was exhausting.
Finding available alumni who were a good fit took time.
Getting students to actually show up — even harder.

We ran 3 or 4 sessions, and while the content was gold, the momentum just wasn’t there. So, we made the call to pause and pivot — toward higher-impact initiatives that had more engagement and energy behind them.

It’s one of those chapters in the NSA Boston journey that not a lot of people know about.
But it taught me something important: not everything is going to work.
And that’s okay.

If anything, it reminded me that behind every win, there are 10 quiet experiments no one saw.
This was one of them.
And maybe someday, we’ll bring it back — better, stronger, and more refined.

For now, it stays as a good lesson and a great memory.

Thank you to all Alumni’s who volunteered for this!!!