GORHAM, Maine  –  In its sixth year of programming, the Huskies' Athletic Department and the University of Southern Maine's Career and Employment Hub are sponsoring the first Husky Pack Chat of the 2025-2026 academic year in tandem with the University's 2025 Homecoming & Family Weekend, October 3-5.
 
A professional development series, Husky Pack Chats provide a path for USM student-athletes and general student body at all stages of their collegiate careers with an opportunity to prepare the varied facets of the job hunt and build a connection with USM's Career and Employment Hub.  Tying in with the festive atmosphere of the weekend, the 2025-2026 academic year opening Husky Pack Chat is a Mocktail Hour and Networking Event slated for Friday, October 3 (4-5:30 pm) in the USM Ice Arena. 
 
During this event, student-athletes will have the opportunity to put into practice networking concepts and take advantage of the opportunity to engage with a variety of University alumni and business professionals, and lay out a plan to continue to develop a career plan.
 
 After the networking portion of the event, there will be a mock interview orchestrated by Renewal by Andersen with a random student participant selected to engage in the process. At the conclusion of the Pack Chat, one lucky student will be chosen at random to win a PlayStation 5 sponsored and presented by Renewal by Andersen.
 
With a blend of student-athlete alumni and visiting employers from a variety of professions and industries, students and student-athletes in attendance will be able to enjoy festive mocktails and light refreshments crafted by the Huskies' coaching staff while practicing their networking skills and engaging with potential employers.
 
Among the professionals in attendance, University of Southern Maine Department of Athletics is excited to welcome back a number of former Husky standouts from men's soccer, softball, ice hockey, tennis and baseball. Among the notable Husky student-athlete alumni in attendance are men's soccer Hall of Famer Greg Cox '10, softball alumna Brooke (Cross) Sylvia '19, and Jakub Suran '25.  Cox is an Assistant Vice President, Associate Client Advisor at R.M Davis, Private Wealth Management, and Sylvia is Senior Employee Relations Specialist with Abbott Industries. Suran, a recent Husky grad and former member of the men's ice hockey team, has embarked on a career as a Software Developer II with VividCloud.
 
Kicking off the event, two current student-athletes junior Campbell Doughty (Ashland, Va./Hanover) and senior Kurtis Voter (Sanford, Maine), successful Husky Pack Chat participants themselves, will address their peers on the advantages of the Career Employment Hub and utilizing the programming offered by USM Athletics. 
 
Voter is the 2025-2026 Southern Maine Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) President and is a four-year member of the Huskies' men's soccer team.  A Mechanical Engineering major, Voter is a 2024 recipient of the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Award, and is a William B. Wise Scholar Athlete.
 
A member of the women's basketball team, Doughty serves as the 2025-2026 SAAC Treasurer.  Earning CSC Academic All-District honors last season, Doughty is pursuing her degree in Sport Management.   
 
"This is a tremendous opportunity for our current student-athletes to learn from their peers, our university and student-athlete alumni, and to ask questions about starting their career search from individuals who have had similar experiences while embarking on the beginning stages of their own career paths," said Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator Kimberly Turner.
 
USM's Career & Employment Hub is a resource to multiple audiences, serving University of Southern Maine students, business and community partners, and faculty and staff.  Assisting students in connecting to their future through career exploration, self-assessments, interviewing skills, internship searches and more, the Career & Employment Hub also connects community partners to USM's greatest resource – its students and faculty – to help develop workforce connections, fill service-learning experiences, internship, and volunteering opportunities as well as traditional employment. Located on the Portland Campus on the second floor of the newly opened McGoldrick Center for Career & Student Success (Room 2010). Interested parties can learn more about all the activities, workshops and one-on-one guidance opportunities at https://usm.maine.edu/career-and-employment-hub
 
 
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