SFSU students Jean-Michael Arraki and Jean Miguel Nacpil host this first social hour of the Fall 2022 semester for the alumni mentoring program. Mentors share their stories from their time at the University, offer insight into learnings over the course of their careers, and advise current students on making the most of their time at San Francisco State.

Mohamed Saber is a consultant and the host of the SFSU Gatorcast podcast. He received his Bachelor's degree in Finance from San Francisco State University.

Sina Shariati is a business analyst with a background in IT and data analytics. He receive his Master’s in Business Analytics from San Francisco State University.

Jeff Drimmer is a logistics expert with more than 30 years of management experience. He received his Bachelor’s in Business Administration from San Francisco State University.

Michael Dore is an attorney with extensive experience in information systems. He holds a Master’s in Business Administration from San Francisco State University.

Cristian Solis-Flores is an agent at New York life Insurance Company. He received his Bachelor's in Business Administration from San Francisco State University.

Ryan Smith is an Assistant Professor at SFSU’s Lam Family College of Business. He previously taught at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Jean-Michael Arraki is the President of the Mentorship Empowerment Club. He’s a Senior at San Francisco State University studying business information systems.

Jean Miguel Nacpil is the executive officer of the Mentorship Empowerment Club. He’s a Junior accounting student at San Francisco State University.

Sina on the SFSU Faculty

[24:10] The faculty is so professional. They were so helpful to me in finding my first job because when I was preparing my resume, I was reaching out to them.

I asked them, ‘Hey, could you please take a look at this resume and give me your feedback? ‘

Mohamed on the Culture at SFSU

[27:38] It built an underdog mentality. We're going up against big schools like Berkeley, Stanford or these other universities– Santa Clara, San Jose State… and I like that. I liked being the underdog.

Jeff on Applying for Jobs

[38:06] Don't ever get discouraged. You may be applying for dozens and dozens of companies and hearing nothing but knows, and knows, and knows. Don't let that get you down because that's part of life's experience, is how you deal with adversity, right?

It's very easy to deal with life when things are good. But people will always look and see how you performed in adversity.