Budgeting and Personal Finance 

This workshop demonstrated how to create a budget, manage money, and think about the financial aspects of life after college. This program was presented by Sam Abrahamson ’11, the co-founder of Adult-ish, a website with free, bite-sized video lessons that teach about personal finance, career readiness, and personal development.

How to Invest

401k or 403b? Ethereum or Bitcoin? And who is IRA Roth, anyway? This Investing 101 workshop was offered by Sam Abrahamson ’11.

Credit Cards & Debt

In one workshop, Lauren Thomas of the Credit Abuse Resistance Education network covered good and bad debt, the best credit cards, and how to stay (or climb) out of debt.

Other featured speakers from the Credit Abuse Resistance Education program have included:
Rich Goldman ’76, P’16, JD, Bankruptcy Attorney
Randy Creswell, JD, Shareholder, Perkins Thompson, P.A.

Another workshop, offered by FAME, the Finance Authority of Maine, discussed how to create a budget, manage money, and think about the financial aspects of life after college such as insurance, credit, and saving for retirement.

Unpacking the Job Offer

The Bates Human Resources office presented this workshop to help students understand the elements of a job offer beyond a paycheck, including benefits packages, wellness programs, retirement savings plans and other perks that employers provide.

Taxes

Deadlines, deductions, and student loan credits? No reason to dread tax day any longer! In one program, senior auditor Andrew Murry, CPA/MBA, spoke about who, how, and when to file your taxes. Other workshops have featured Dean James Reese discussing how and when to file taxes.

Financing your 20s: Budgeting and Saving

In one program, Dan Willsey ‘18, El Khansaa Khaddiou ‘20, and Topher Castenada ‘20 talked about how they’ve created a budget to fit their lifestyles in the cities of Lewiston, Portland, and New York City.

Other speakers have included: 

Helen Andreoli, Bates ’92, VP of Wealth Management, UBS
George Carr, Bates ’07, VP and Portfolio Manager, RM Davis
Kelsey Gillespie, Community Marketing Manager, Casco Bay FCU
Nate Hull, Associate, Verill Dana and speaker, Credit Abuse Resistance Education

Roommates and Renting 

What should you ask while looking for an apartment? How do you decide whether you will have roommates or not? Students heard from recent graduates about how they made decisions about renting apartments, commuting to work, and living with roommates.

Alumni panelists have included:
Mary Corcoran ‘22, Sanika Shah ‘22, Ben Conner ‘22, Tyler Shambaugh ’23, Adam Naddaff Slocum ’22, Emily Diaz ’23, and Sandia Taban ’22

Renting in NYC and Beyond

Moving to a city after graduation? Learn about apartment shopping! This presentation offered great advice for thinking about working with landlords, finding an apartment, and affording what you find – using New York as the example for what to consider with any large city. Featuring NYC Realtor Lauren Carter from Cooper and Cooper Real Estate.  Topics included: Neighborhoods & Subways, The Application Process, Paperwork Requirements, Income & Credit Guidelines and more.

How to Apartment

Experts spoke about leases and contracts, rental insurance, finding the right place, communicating with landlords, getting your deposit back.

Guest speakers included:
Vince Ciampi, Bates ’12, Broker, CBRE The Boulos Company
Hawley Strait, Bates ’00, Real Estate Attorney, Bernstein Shur

What’s for Dinner?

Meal Planning, Cooking Demo, and the Secrets of Eating Well on a Budget.

In this interactive workshop, Bates Dining’s cooking team shared how to plan, shop, and cook a week of delicious meals on a budget. There was also a cooking gadget give-away!

From Stress to Success: Managing Post-Grad Uncertainty

This workshop highlighted advice from the class of 2022 on how to successfully transition from college to career, build confidence and overcome setbacks.

Alumni panelists included:

• Rachel Retana ’22, Sean Vaz ’22, Daniah Foster ’22, Amina Mohamed ’22, Facilitated by : Adama Diaby ’22

First Generation Cat’ Chat

In this program, first-gen Bates alumni shared their stories, Bates experiences, and offered advice on entering the workforce. This discussion included the following guest alumni:

Afroz Baig ’11, Associate Attorney at McGillivary Steele Elkin LLP

Mike Hogan ’85, Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer CSIM at Charles Schwab

Chris Barbin ’93, Venture Partner at GGV Capital, Entrepreneur & Advisor

Identity in the Workplace

Larry Handerhan ’05, President of the Alumni Association, and fellow panelists Kim Trauceniek (Student Life), Roy Montgomery (OIE) and Carolyn Starks (Admission), led a discussion about how, when, if… to be yourself in the workplace. At the time, Larry was the Chief of Staff for the D.C. Department of Human Services, previously worked at HUD for several years, and holds an MPA from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University.

Friends and Fun: Finding Community After Bates

Students often say that they worry about how to make and keep friends after Bates. This workshop explored strategies for building a social life after college, when you’re not living and eating with hundreds of your peers and your best friends 24/7.

Life After Bates: How to Survive and Thrive

This was a frank talk with recent Bates grads about how they transitioned to life after Bates and shared tips and tricks for students who will soon graduate. Topics included: friendships, wellness, apartment living, work-life balance, and more!