June 24 2026 at 12:00AM
Connections That Count: A Recap of PMI-OC's Networking Event at the Heritage Museum
On June 24, 2026, PMI Orange County brought members and non-members together for an evening of in-person networking at the Heritage Museum of Orange County. It was arguably one of the best networking events the chapter has held yet.
This event introduced a couple new features. We had recruiters Michelle Martell and Alexis Murillo of Anduril Industries, who offered attendees real-time resume reviews and career feedback, giving job seekers a chance to sharpen their materials on the spot. The evening also featured a speaker segment from Angela Benson, the chapter's Director of Professional Development.
To get people going, attendees played networking bingo, with raffle tickets handed out at check-in and bonus entries awarded to anyone who scored a blackout. Other than that, there was a lot of organic conversation.
One of the night's most memorable moments happened organically. Two attendees discovered they had each immigrated to the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic from different countries, but with similar paths. They exchanged stories about the challenges of finding work and navigating a new language, and one attendee's account of landing their career "big break" left the other feeling encouraged and less alone in the struggle.
"This is what networking is all about," said Christiana Richardson, one of the volunteers behind the event. "Bringing people together from different places."
Director of Networking Garrett Armstrong echoed that sentiment by thanking the volunteer team on his LinkedIn post. "Many hands make light work, and none of this is possible without all of you coming together."
Interested in volunteering for a future event? Reach out to Christiana Richardson at christiana.richardson@pmi-oc.org or Garrett Armstrong at dir.networking@pmi-oc.org. If you have ideas for future venues or activities, PMI-OC would like to hear from you as well.
