Freedom rang through the halls of Sennott Square Tuesday night, as members of Pitt’s… Freedom rang through the halls of Sennott Square Tuesday night, as members of Pitt’s Freedom Mentoring and Leadership Development Honor Society networked with representatives from Mellon Financial Corporation, as part of the first Mellon-Freedom Symposium, a landmark event aimed at diversifying the financial services industry and raising awareness about the myriad of career options in the industry for minority students at Pitt.The symposium came in conjunction with a recent $5,000 matching grant given to Freedom’s endowment fund. The event reflects a sound and serious commitment on Mellon’s part to support the Pitt organization, a sentiment affirmed by Liz Dennis, from Mellon’s human resources department, at the opening of the meeting.

“Mellon is very serious about this partnership,” she said. “Mellon and Freedom are, indeed, partnering.”

Dennis described the evening as a “historic moment” for both the University and the corporation as she commenced the symposium with a brief introduction. She stated the purpose of the evening: to expose Pitt students to the various career paths available to students within the financial services industry and allow them the opportunity to establish contacts. She also stressed Mellon’s ongoing dedication to community development and support for students entering the job market.

Following Dennis’ remarks, representatives from various Mellon departments gave the group brief overviews of their positions, including areas such as e-commerce, wealth management, human resources and global cash management. The representatives present included a handful of Pitt alumni.

According to Dennis, Stu Sutin, senior vice president and the head of the international department at Mellon, pioneered the Mellon-Freedom partnership. Sutin gave some closing remarks before students had the opportunity to meet directly with company representatives. He also praised the energy and devotion of the group, and expressed his hope that Freedom would continue with their commitment dedication in the years to come.

“We have an opportunity to build Mellon into a stronger and more diversified workplace,” he said. ” I hope this is the beginning of what will be years and years of success for freedom.”

After these words, students filtered out into the second floor hallway of Sennott Square, where the Mellon representatives had manned tables. Students had the opportunity to mingle, ask questions and gather more information about the various positions.

Harrison Boyd, a sophomore majoring in communications and political science and a conductor for Freedom, said he felt the event was a great success.

“The evening was extremely insightful,” he said. “It gave the opportunity for the students at Pitt to get a reality-based perspective.”

He added that he was pleased to see a number of underclassmen present at the event in addition to the seniors who will soon be entering the job market. He said he felt that the wide range of career paths presented dispelled the misconception of the financial service being a unilateral and humdrum field of employment.

“[The symposium] bridged the gap between corporate America and college education,” he said.

Chris Curd, a senior management major, said he was likewise impressed with the wide range of opportunity available at Mellon.

“It opened eyes for a lot of people,” he said, “especially because [Mellon] is not just a bank anymore.”

Curd said he was amazed at the number of departments within Mellon that he never knew existed.

“This is a gateway opportunity for Freedom and Mellon,” he said.