The Gateway Scholars program hosted the third of its four-part series, “Network After Work,” on Monday evening, aimed at connecting students to working professionals and the fields they may hope to explore.

This event, centered on nonprofits and the social impact sector, was held in the Student Services Building. Five panelists from a diverse set of nonprofit organizations came to speak with students about their work, their backgrounds and what exactly they do with the organizations. The organizations included Teach for America, Breakthrough Austin, CASA of Travis County, Ronald McDonald House Charities and the Long Center for Preforming Arts.

“We hoped that students would get a clearer vision in terms of their career path,” said Charles Lu, executive director of Gateway Scholars. “Oftentimes, our student population does not necessarily have access to connect with working professionals in terms of the fields that they want to go into.”

Each panelist expressed how he or she came to work with their organization in unique ways. Their reasons included joining the same organization that aided them when they were younger, feeling it was time for a major career change, discovering their passion later in life or joining just because they wanted to use their talents for something that would help others.

“Growing up, I had two Teach for America teachers who worked as hard as they could for me,” TFA recruiter Jorge Galan said. “They stayed after school and came in on the weekends. Because of them, I was able to go to The University of Texas at Austin and graduate.”

Students came to listen to speakers and learn about their organizations but also in the hope to find what they are truly passionate about and may want to pursue.

“At first I was really worried with my major, if I should really stick with it because it’s not a very well-known major,” said Alexia Carmona, arts and entertainment technologies freshman. “But after hearing one of the panelists say, ‘Just do what you love,’ that inspired me to stick with it.”

The first event of this series was focused on the legal industry, the second was focused on the tech industry and the final will focus on the start-up industry within Austin.