Student engagement officer Jessica Han on her support for Defy Gravity

Oct 14, 2025

The third-year student chats about her role as one of the student engagement officers, what she’s learned about alumni generosity and how she balances it all.

Most undergraduate students don’t spend their afternoons talking to retired judges and diplomats in between classes. Still, for Jessica Han, it’s all in a day’s work in her role as a student engagement officer (SEO) at the University of Toronto. Han works with University Advancement to encourage U of T graduates to stay involved with the university – supporting the Defy Gravity campaign’s goal to encourage 225,000 alumni to engage with the university for the first time one million times collectively. In an interview, Han, a third-year undergraduate student majoring in English and environmental studies at University College, chatted about her job as an SEO, what she’s discovered about alumni generosity and how she balances it all.

Can you describe your role as a student engagement officer?

Student engagement officers, also known as SEOs, are full-time U of T students who connect with alumni to learn about experiences they had as students, their careers and what they’re up to now. Once we understand their interests, SEOs let alumni know about opportunities to re-engage with the university, such as attending events or volunteering by mentoring current students, for example, and sometimes through financial support for scholarships or other causes. For U of T, it helps develop a much richer and broader network and community of engaged alumni, who play such a key role as ambassadors in their careers and communities and in the lives of current students.

group of students standing outside an old building

Each semester, every SEO gets assigned to work on a project for a specific faculty, college or division. Right now I’m working with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, and in the past I’ve worked with the newly renamed Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law and University College. This year I also took on additional responsibilities as a supervisor helping to train other SEOs.

What got you interested in the position, and what’s your favourite part about it?

The job posting explained how SEOs communicate with alumni, and that really caught my attention because, as a student, I find our noses are often just stuffed in our textbooks! I really wanted the opportunity to communicate and connect with so many different people.

And now that I’m in the job, that’s definitely my favourite part – the opportunity to connect with such a variety of people. I think it gives you so much experience and so many skills as well. For instance, I talk to professors, lawyers, doctors and diplomats; that’s not an everyday thing where a student like me gets to speak to so many different people from so many industries.

Do any conversations stand out?

A former judge shared her journey from U of T undergrad to reaching her goal of becoming a judge – such an inspiring story for an undergrad like me. And a retired diplomat who’s now in his 80s and graduated in the 1950s explained how he did his course enrolment using pen and paper, and then later using a typewriter. There was also a professor who told me about how he met his wife of 50 years at the exam centre and worked up the nerve to ask for her phone number!

What have you learned about how alumni contribute to the university through your position?

I’ve learned that alumni contribute a lot, and I really mean a lot. So many of the bursaries and scholarships that students receive are because of alumni donations. And whenever you see a reconstructed or revitalized space on the university campus, like the University College Revitalization Project or the Landmark Project on King’s College Circle, it’s often made possible because of alumni contributions.

Alumni who mentor current students and share their knowledge and experience make a huge difference to students as they explore their career options.

Through my work as an SEO I’ve learned about new simulators and research labs that medical and dentistry students get to use to enhance their learning because of alumni support. Alumni who mentor current students and share their knowledge and experience also make a huge difference to students as they explore their career options.

Alumni who mentor current students and share their knowledge and experience make a huge difference to students as they explore their career options.

Based on your conversations, what kinds of things are alumni most interested in supporting financially at the university?

They’re very interested in student funds and student scholarships. I think talking to current students about what an incredible difference this kind of support makes, and thinking back to their own time as students, really brings the impact of this kind of giving to life.

What do you tell SEOs who are just starting out?

I tell them to just be themselves and to follow their curiosity in their conversations with alumni. At the beginning, these conversations can sometimes feel daunting, but it’s really just an everyday conversation that you have with any other person. The only difference is you have this U of T connection – you’re learning about their experience while also sharing your own.

How do you balance the job with your studies?

SEOs work part-time while maintaining full-time studies, so time management and organizational skills are critical. For me, simple things like keeping an agenda, making lists and using a calendar to stay on top of deadlines make all the difference in achieving success.

So many of the bursaries and scholarships that students receive are because of alumni donations.

It’s a constant balance, but the SEO program is so unique and worth it. As an undergrad student at U of T, academic life can be pretty stressful and nerve-wracking at times, but the SEO program provides a lot of support. It’s also a really great way to develop your professional skills and talk to new people. For any student interested in developing a lot of skills, I would definitely recommend it.

So many of the bursaries and scholarships that students receive are because of alumni donations.