Editors Note: Carson Williams ’25 wrote this story for College Marketing and Communication.
At a table in the Hornets Suite, Annslee Ware ‘27 leaned into conversation with alumni, asking questions about careers, choices, and what comes next. Like many Kalamazoo College student-athletes nearing graduation, she’s beginning to look beyond the structure of practices and games to a new question taking shape: Who am I beyond the game?
That question brought junior and senior student-athletes together with alumni in March for the Beyond the Game networking event, hosted by Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD), and the Office of Alumni Engagement (OAE), in partnership with Kalamazoo College Athletics. The gathering connected students with graduates to discuss post-graduation journeys.
“The goal of Beyond the Game was to create a meaningful space to explore careers of interest, gain advice on navigating life at and after Kalamazoo College, and continue building professional networks,” CCPD Director Valerie Miller said.
About 80 students and 20 alumni attended the event. Many participants said they valued both the opportunity to practice networking and to learn how academic experiences at K translate into careers.
Ware, a women’s lacrosse player double majoring in psychology and business, said the event helped her see new possibilities. She hopes to build a career helping others in the sports realm.
“Connecting with alumni and learning from them are essential to my career journey,” Ware said. “It was fun learning what majors and minors alums had and how they related to their profession.
She left the event looking forward to what her future could be like after K.
“My biggest takeaway was to always be open to any career paths and work hard,” she said. “Openness to experience and a strong work ethic are key when you’re aiming to be successful.”
Jacob Gallimore ‘15 majored in chemistry with a business minor and a biochemistry concentration and was a member of the football team. He is now Vice President of business development at Ansira, a software development company based in St. Louis, Missouri. He returned to campus for the opportunity to help fellow Hornets.
“I know how stressful it was my junior and senior years, beginning to make plans post-graduation,” Gallimore said. “I’m always about networking, and as I progress in my career, I would love to hire some Hornets down the line.”
He enjoyed talking to student-athletes across all sports and was impressed by the number of students who attended and asked pertinent questions about career paths and the job market.
“There is a new challenge current seniors face, entering a rapidly changing job market in the artificial intelligence era, where the number of entry-level roles has decreased in the past few years,” Gallimore said. “However, this reinforces the value of the K-Plan in preparing students to be adaptable and the necessity of the plethora of tools that K provides, including networking events like this one.”
Miller says feedback from alumni about the event was overwhelmingly positive.
“Among the alumni who completed our survey, 100% said the event was a positive experience and worth their time, and that they felt it was genuinely useful for student-athletes.”
As students like Ware look ahead, events like Beyond the Game offer more than networking. They provide a starting point for imagining a future beyond college and athletics, one conversation at a time.
“At Kalamazoo College, we emphasize the ‘student’ in student-athlete by intentionally creating opportunities like this for career exploration, mentorship and meaningful connection,” Director of Athletics Jamie Zorbo said. “It also serves as a strong reminder of the reach and impact of the K network. Our alumni are deeply invested in giving back, and that support plays a critical role in helping our student-athletes move forward with confidence.”