Annual Career Dinner Series Brought Together Alumni and Students

The dinners, a longstanding LCM tradition, are designed to connect students with alumni who understand both the academic preparation and personal commitments that shape an Orthodox Jewish professional life.

Giving back through experience

For Eli Sears, a 2020 LCM graduate and senior associate at PwC, returning to speak with students continued a cycle of mentorship that began when he attended the dinners himself.

“These dinners really helped enlighten me on what those jobs were really like,” Sears said. “Hearing people firsthand, you get a better appreciation for what really is involved in the career.”

Dr. Daniel Noam Lax, a pediatric neurologist at Montefiore Einstein who has been a presenter almost every year since he graduated in 2011, said he thought it was only fair for him to come back considering how the alumni dinners benefited him. “I felt like it was my responsibility to give back and provide for the next generations,” Lax said, noting that students often follow up for advice, research opportunities, or shadowing connections.

Finance alumnus Yisroel Price, a 2024 graduate and associate at Morgan Stanley, said the goal is to help current students build the same professional networks that supported him.

“The school provided for me a foundation to get me a foot in the door, and I just want to be able to do the same,” Price said.

Practical advice from the field

Beyond inspiration, alumni offered candid, experience-driven guidance tailored to each field. At the accounting dinner, presenters recommended completing the CPA exam before beginning full-time work to avoid demanding schedules, and to take advantage of potential financial incentives, including first-year bonuses. They also discussed the flexibility to move between tax and audit roles as careers evolve.

Finance speakers highlighted the competitiveness of today’s job market and the importance of sustained networking, encouraging students to devote significant time to outreach calls—the “100-hour rule of networking,” as they referred to it—while also developing technical or coding skills, and exploring alternative entry paths like accounting or real estate.

In medicine, discussions ranged from residency-matching strategies to work-life balance and salary expectations across specialties. Speakers noted that students who do not initially match into residency may benefit from strengthening their applications during a gap year or reconsidering specialty choice, underscoring the importance of informed decision-making.

Students gain clarity and confidence

For students, the chance to engage directly with alumni provided both practical guidance and reassurance. Ezra Domsky, a second-year student who attended the accounting dinner, said hearing how professionals leveraged personal connections reshaped his internship search strategy.

“Hearing exactly how someone reached out through connections was perfect because that’s something I’m considering now,” Domsky said.

First-semester student Noah Schulman described the medicine discussion as “super insightful,” particularly for its detailed look at study expectations, residency life, and professional pressures.

“It’s inspiring when you get to see the alumni as finished products,” Schulman said. “They’re able to show us what it’s like after they leave here and how to approach these coming years to maximize success.”

To the future and back

While each dinner focused on a specific profession, the broader message was consistent: Meaningful careers grow from preparation, perseverance, and community support. As in previous years, the Alumni Dinner Series reinforced the enduring connection between Lander graduates and current students. Several presenters expressed hope that today’s undergraduates will return one day to guide the next generation, serving as a bridge between where Lander College for Men students are today and where they aspire to go tomorrow.