Meeting Successful Alumni
Annual LCM Dinner Series Brings in Alumni to Guide Current Students
Students at Lander College for Men received an intimate look at their chosen profession during LCM’s December Alumni Dinners. Each year, successful alumni return to the institution to speak with current students about the realities of working life.
"Successful alumni are the best source of career advice for our students,” stated LCM Dean Dr. Moshe Sokol, “They understand exactly what our students need to know, and share that information with them, based upon their own experiences and expertise. They are the perfect role models for our students, demonstrating how Lander alumni can succeed in their chosen fields.”
Students were offered the chance to explore many professions over the dinner series, including dentistry, medicine, law, engineering, education, finance and real-estate.
On the last evening of the program, roughly 30 LCM students listened intently to LCM Alumnus Meir Milgraum, director of acquisitions and developments for Lightstone, one of New York’s most prominent real estate development firms.
“Network, network, network,” stressed Milgraum in an entertaining and free-flowing two-hour discussion. “You never know where the next deal will come from.”
Milgraum advised students about the challenges of a successful real-estate career as well as the benefits of the profession. Real estate, he said, is a solid choice for religious individuals.
“You can set your boundaries on day one,” explained Milgraum.
Milgraum counselled students to seek out internships, even unpaid ones, at larger real-estate firms.
“You have to create your own story,” he said.
Several students who currently have internships in the real-estate industry asked Milgraum practical steps about their next career move.
Steven Satt, an LCM student who currently works at Jacob Real Estate Advisors as a member of the acquisitions department, said he particularly enjoyed the evening. “I had the chance to speak one-on-one with an incredibly successful person that I might not have been able to meet otherwise,” Satt said. “The speaker gave me an idea about what path I should take in my career.”
Other alumni included:
- Actuaries Sammy Kahn and Gershon Firestone
- Educators Rabbi Aryeh Young and Jordan Mitchell
- Accountants Ira Suss, Chuni Preisler, Avraham Young, Kenneth Milgraum
- Dentists Drs. Gabe Hershman and Seth Fagin
- Lawyers Ben Yeamans and BJ Frenkel
- Physicians Drs. Aaron Weiss, Daniel Noam Lax, Aleks Melamud, Doc Yitzie Goldstein and Shmuel Golfeyz
- Engineer Mendy Norowitz
- Software developers Chaim Bender, Yossi Lehrman and Tzvi Abberbock
- Nursing home administrators Rafi Motechin and Elie Pollak
- Psychologists David Hersh, Daniel Bentley and Cheskie Rosenzweig
- Physical Therapists Ari Rosen and Aron Charach
- Finance professionals Jordan Kaplan, Jeff Thurm, Israel Anteby and Josh Hartman
LCM freshman Tzvi Cohen said that he “really, really enjoyed the lecture” about real-estate.
“It was great to have the exposure,” said Cohen. “I realized how big the field is and how hard it is to succeed in it.”
Alumni Sammy Kahn who just began his actuarial career discussed the tests required to succeed in the profession. “The tests are really challenging and require a serious amount of studying, but they’re worth it in the end,” he said.
Naftali Weitz, a current student, said that he “learned a lot about the opportunities one gets from earning a degree in math.”
