Boston University students looking to connect with alumni for an insider’s perspective on how to get ahead in their prospective careers rubbed elbows in the Student Alumni Council’s inaugural Connect for Success meet-and-greet last night.

Held in the Trustees Ballroom on the ninth floor of 1 Sherborn St., about 150 students and 65 alumni turned out to network.

Some student attendees discussed their present and future professional lives, while others swapped past and present BU experiences, making new friends as well as valuable business contacts.

“All of the alumni or most have already had years of experience,” SAC President Lana Koretsky said. “A few are 2007 grads, but all are established in their fields and are employed with really prestigious firms. Their experience while at college and road to getting where they are is going to be really helpful to students — especially those who don’t know where they’re going yet.”

Koretsky, a College of Arts and Sciences and School of Management junior, said Connect for Success differs from other networking events because it incorporates a career exposition.

“If you have no idea what you’re doing and have just gotten to college and are just exploring, you want someone to guide you,” she said. “You aren’t looking for a career, you’re looking for advice. I think that’s one of the great things of this event.”

At the end of the evening, students handed in surveys critiquing the event as well as naming the three alumni with whom they would like to maintain a connection.

“This is a way to help students directly as opposed to through an organization, which is less enticing to me,” CAS alumnus Jack Speranza said. “I’ve had good conversations with people who want some help in their lives.”

Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences alumnus Stephen Farrell said students should not limit their futures to their majors.

“Finding your passion should be what’s important,” Farrell said. “I want to help them find out what they’re passionate about, whether it be Roman theology or international relations. No matter how limiting a field may seem, I want to show them there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

“I started out at Sargent, and now I’m in tech support,” he continued. “No matter what you study in college, as long as you’re motivated, hardworking and have some smarts, you’ll be fine.”

College of Communication senior Trevor Stonefield suggested that Farrell’s calm advice is easier said than done.

“I’m graduating in two months and looking for a job, which feels pretty daunting,” Stonefield said. “It’s hard to gauge the likelihood of breaking through, but I’m glad they have people representing my field.”

He and former BU film major Ivy Moylan, a COM alumna, discussed his future.

“As a mentor, I want to show how things work behind the scenes of the film business,” said Moylan, who co-founded the Brattle Film Foundation in 2001 and works at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge. “I want to help as much as I can and show the various careers available.”

SAC Coordinator and SMG junior Chris Munsell said alumni like Moylan helped accomplish SAC’s goals.

“A lot of students don’t know where they’re going, and we’re trying to help,” he said. “We want to facilitate student-alumni relationships for the future. It’s a lot easier when you know someone in the real world.”