“SYAS is all about (building) relationships,” Litt said. “Instead of waiting to get into the field to build relationships, we are building those relationships now.”

At the luncheon, students and practitioners participated in an activity similar to speed-dating, in which they moved from table to table to discuss the practitioners’ careers and insight in areas the students are studying, Litt said.

Graduate student Abbey Wright said before attending the event, she did not know much about the goals of SYAS, but she hoped the group would provide her with the chance to connect with professionals.

“I am sure that this will be a networking opportunity, if anything, to see ways that you can work in the field and different ways they interact together with different departments,” Wright said.

Wright said she was excited to meet with practitioners in the fields she is studying, and she hoped the organization would provide her with insight as she makes her way through law school and decides what type of law to pursue.

Zoe Lyons, an MSU alumna and acting director for the Hillsdale, Mich., branch of the Department of Human Services, was one of the professionals at the event.

“I went to MSU, and I went to all of my classes, but I don’t think I had a really good understanding of what it was going to be like … out in the real world,” she said.

Students who attended the luncheon are at an advantage because they are going to have a better idea of what sorts of roles are available to them when they graduate, Lyons said.

Litt said the luncheon went well, and he is optimistic about the future of SYAS.

“It was reinforcing for me that this organization will provide the institutional support that (graduate) students interested in this field are looking for,” Litt said.