{"id":25003,"date":"2015-02-12T11:47:26","date_gmt":"2015-02-12T16:47:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/?p=25003"},"modified":"2016-05-19T13:30:36","modified_gmt":"2016-05-19T17:30:36","slug":"north-carolina-alums-gather-to-cheer-on-panthers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/2015\/02\/north-carolina-alums-gather-to-cheer-on-panthers\/","title":{"rendered":"North Carolina alums gather to cheer on Panthers."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"01\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When the Golden Panthers men\u2019s basketball team of Florida International University (FIU) traveled to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to take on the 49ers, it was too good of an opportunity for area alumni to pass up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe decided to gather alumni for some pre-game fun and then to cheer on the Panthers,\u201d said J.C. Alvarado (BA \u201903), president of the Carolinas Chapter of the FIU Alumni Association<\/a>, who organized the January 31, 2015 event along with Sashle Eslaquit (MBA \u201807, BBA \u201906, BBA \u201905). Around 25 alumni and many family members gathered at the Olde Mecklenburg Brewery in Charlotte. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to meet someone who went to your university and is now living in your same city. Friendships are quickly formed,\u201d said Alvarado, owner of Alvarado Insurance Agencies. He mentioned that there are many FIU alum, including Eslaquit, who work for Bank of America in Charlotte and enjoy discovering a co-worker is a fellow Panther. <\/p>\n

After socializing at the brewery, many of the group went to the Halton Arena to cheer on the Panthers, who defeated the 49ers by a score of 78-70.<\/p>\n

\"02\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe had our FIU gear on, including the kids, sitting together and rooting for the Panthers,\u201d Alvarado said. \u201cWhat a fun time!\u201d<\/p>\n

Alumni offices help with event planning.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou think organizing an alumni event is going to be stressful, but the people at FIU give you so much help, with planning, invitations and whatever you need,\u201d said Alvarado.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love when alumni contact our office for assistance. We\u2019re delighted to help with whatever we can do for alumni events,\u201d said Yanyn San Luis (BBA \u201910), assistant director, Alumni Relations, who attended the Charlotte event. \u201cThat night, as always, many people who didn\u2019t even know each other were soon sharing college stories. Getting people connected is the best part of my job.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"03\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Also attending were Amanda Wood, assistant director of Chapters and Young Alumni for FIU Alumni Association, and College of Business Development Officer Kenneth Gelok (BA \u201908).<\/p>\n

San Luis and Wood brought FIU t-shirts and\u00a0hats and other give-aways to the event.<\/p>\n