On Tuesday, February 23, 2016 I attended The GriffCenter’s Progressive etiquette dinner. The event was hosted in Grupp fireside lounge and the evening began with a presentation on networking and how to best present yourself. The speaker covered the importance of always being prepared and having business cards as well as always keeping a safe and comfortable distance. You don’t want to crowd the other person but you also want them to know that you are engaged and interested in the conversation. This can be done through stance, posture and eye contact. The last is most important of course.

After the presentation we then had our progressive etiquette dinner. It wasn’t at all what I had anticipated it to be but I still enjoyed it. I thought the event would be one of the dinners where you learn proper table manners for formal dinners but instead we were given a card with our name and three numbers. There were ten tables set up and they each had one or two business professionals that we would have the opportunity to sit and talk with if we had their number. So we got to sit at three different tables for salad, dinner and dessert. My favorite table was the dinner one where I sat with a military veteran and an executive from Moog, both of which were Canisius alumni. We had a lot of interesting discussions on what Canisius was like during their time as undergrads as well as what made us all choose to go here. My stepdad works at Moog and I did a pre-engineering academy in high school so it was very interesting for me to sit with someone who is in a high up position there. I’ve also had several military veterans in my family so I always treat it as an honor when I get to meet someone who has served our country. Both of the guests were very friendly and engaging and gave us some tips on how to talk at the table and to be courteous with one another. Although the event wasn’t what I had expected it to be, I really enjoyed myself and I feel that I learned a lot from the experience.