Valeria Garnica
February 28, 2020
On Tuesday, February 25th, our Aurum members were in for a treat. Three of our Aurum alumni took a trip down memory lane and returned to the UC Berkeley halls. Aishani Majumdar, Serene Kuramarohit, and Alvina Kam took time out of their busy schedules in their corporate lives to visit for an alumni panel where they shared advice on “Life In and After Berkeley.”
During her time in Berkeley, Aishani founded Aurum Cosmetics. She is a true leader. Not only did she successfully build a strong community of beauty lovers and hard workers but she also won the national championships of L’Oreal Paris’s 2017 Brandstorm, where she set an inspirational precedent for us all. She now works at Rodan + Fields in product development. Serene Kuramarohit was an Aurum member who has since found herself at Beautylish, where she manages a team, works with influencer marketing strategies, and product development team to assist in new product concepts and sustainable packaging initiatives. Lastly, Alvina Kam is currently at Shiseido Technology Acceleration Hub where she too works in product development.
Throughout the panel meeting, these wonderful alumnae covered a range of topics, ranging from internships, job searches, and interviews to adapting to the workforce, career growth, personal development, and much more. They shared their stories in hopes of guiding current Aurum members and UC students in the right direction. All three panelists displayed great enthusiasm as they spoke of both their academic and professional journeys. Important advice that covered throughout the event included:
1. Attend Aurum’s Resume Workshop
“Write down everything they say,” exclaimed Serene. “I would highly recommend that because your resume will put you at the top of the pile. You are not defined by a piece of paper but if you can organize that one piece of paper, it can really make you stand out.”
2. Positioning and Being Prepared in the Job Search and Interview Process
“Always think like a marketer. How you position yourself is how the world will take you,” were some wise words shared by Aishani. “Be prepared when you attend an interview. You may have seven interviews in two days, be prepared for all of them. Don’t take an interview if you’re not prepared. Research the industry, ask questions. They’re getting to know you, but you need to get to know them too,” she said to our current Aurum members in attendance.
3. Be Confident
“Put yourself out there. There is a surprising amount of people that want to help you, and they want nothing in return,” added Alvina. She encouraged our current members to shake off their fears about the future and of rejection, and instead embrace positive feelings about what they have and will accomplish and of what the Aurum community members can offer to the world in terms of talent, intellect, and inspiration.
These three panelists really made our week. Their sincere energy of positivity for our Aurum members permeated the whole event. As midterm season approaches (in the break-neck craze of the Berkeley pace), it is sometimes difficult to keep our head high and our trepidations low, but thankfully we have mentors like Aishani, Serene, and Alvina that allow us to move forward with empowerment vibes and self-love in our veins. These three ladies demonstrated that Berkeley can massively propel us forward if we look for opportunities of growth. As long as we keep working hard, there is a whole world for us to conquer!
Thank you to Aurum and to the Aurum Professional Committee for putting this fabulous event together! And a very heart-felt and special thanks and to our three lovely panelists for joining us. You keep us grounded and excited for what’s to come in our professional careers, whether based in the beauty industry or not. We are proud of you for representing Cal, and we are proud to follow in your footsteps with Cal Aurum!
XO,
Valeria
