Calling All Sheffield School Alumni: We’re About to Make You Very Happy

Students and alums have been asking for years why we don’t have an alumni association. And we’re tired of having to come up with excuses.

In just 3 weeks, we will officially launch the Sheffield School Alumni Association!

We can’t wait, and we know you can’t either. And for those of you who are itching for more information about the who, the what, and the how, some of the basics are below (the stuff I’m allowed to giveaway). But before I do that, I wanted to let you know that we’re giving one lucky reader of this blog post the chance to win a free year’s membership.

How to Win:

• You must be a student or graduate
• Share this blog post on Twitter or Facebook
• Leave a comment below with your Twitter handle or email address

We’ll pick one winner at random next week and let you know.

Benefits of the Sheffield School Alumni Association:

1. An active social network of designers and planners all over the world who’ve taken one of our courses

Facebook and Twitter are great for connecting with everyone and their mothers, but where else can you find a social network devoted to other people who’ve graduated from your school. In the Sheffield School Alumni Association, you’ll be able to chat with others in your field around the world, set up groups based on your interests and passions, find people in your area to meetup or network with.

2. Discounts from retailers and manufacturers

When you’re a student, getting discounts is easy. But after you graduate, people expect you to pay full price. We didn’t think that was fair. So now, Sheffield School Alumni Association members have access to exclusive discounts from our partners. It’s like having a student ID card to carry around for life.

3. A nationwide job board with openings in your field

One of the things we hear most often from graduates is whether or not we offer any kind of career assistance. The answer is, we’re working on it. And as a starting point, we’ve included a job board as part of the Alumni Association that lists jobs for event planners and interior decorators all over the country, sortable and searchable by location, pay, and other job details. Find your next big client or get your first big break through the Sheffield School Alumni Job Board.

4. Free business listings for you and your business

Looking for new clients? We can help. When you’re a member of the Alumni Association, we give you a free listing in our online business listings. People can search for and find you for a job, sort based on geographic region, and link straight to your website. We get calls all the time from people looking to hire our graduates, and now we have a place to send them. Get your name and business listed today.

5. Webinars and events hosted by the Sheffield School and its partners

Attend live online webinars and live events hosted by us. Webinar topics will range from continuing education in the field, to interviews with professionals, to live Q and A with our staff and our partners. Live events will include meetups all over the world, destination trips, and live seminars in different parts of the country. Members of the Alumni Association will receive free invitations to many webinars and events, and will pay a reduced fee to attend others.

The Sheffield School Launches a New Student Benefits Program

Most Fridays I’m excited to bring you our Sheffield Says Question of the Week. But this week, we have a special announcement that supersedes the QotW.

The Sheffield School has launched a student benefits kit for the thousands of creative professionals around the world who enroll in our home-study programs each year.

The Sheffield School has a long tradition of delivering high quality courses in the areas of Interior Design, Wedding & Event Planning, and Jewelry Design to people anywhere in the world. Serving over 10,000 active students in over 100 countries, it can be difficult to provide deals and discounts to everyone. However, with the launch of this new student benefits program, students all over the world will be able to enjoy discounts from retailers and service providers that also reach a global audience.

New York’s premier home-study school is partnering with Collegiate Services, Inc., based in Chicago, IL. Collegiate Services provides one of the largest and longest running discount programs in the North America, serving over 100 schools in the US alone. Through this program, students in any of Sheffield's programs will be able to save on purchases from companies like Verizon, Best Buy, and Walmart.

 “We’ve always tried to do right by our students,” said Chuck DeLaney, Director of the Sheffield School, “and when we had an opportunity to offer our home-study students discounts on products they need, we jumped at the chance.”

For more information about Sheffield School’s Student Benefits Program, visit http://www.sheffield.edu/studentcenter/ or contact the school at 800-445-7279.

And we’ll be back next week to bring you a new Question of the Week!