Showing Up: How Victoria Liverpool ’22 found community beyond campus

The statue “Commerce,” once part of the original University of Rochester campus, stands among blooming cherry trees outside Dewey Hall on the River Campus.

Mentoring current students and attending alumni events helped turn uncertainty into purpose and community

Victoria Liverpool stands smiling beneath a blooming pink cherry blossom tree in front of a campus building during her 2022 graduation from the University of Rochester. — Since graduating from URochester in 2022, Victoria has remained engaged with the University through events and programs, most recently joining the Alumni Board in 2025.

After graduation, Victoria Liverpool ’22 quickly realized that life after college comes with its own set of challenges (and opportunities), especially when it comes to finding community. “Making friends after college is hard,” she admits. “You have to be intentional. You have to show up.”

For Liverpool, staying connected to the University of Rochester became her anchor during that transition. Through alumni events, mentorship opportunities, and simple check-ins with professors and former classmates, she discovered the same support system that helped her thrive as a student was still there—just in a new form.

“Rochester has such a strong network,” she says. “Every time I go to an alumni event, I see people who remind me what’s possible. Seeing other graduates doing amazing things motivates me to go out and do more.”

Since graduation, Liverpool has lived in New York City. She has pivoted from her earlier work in marketing and communications in the fashion industry and has realigned with her passions in policy and communications in global affairs, with a focus on environmental impacts and energy. The transition took hard work, and she credits her Rochester network with helping her navigate the shift. She is now pursuing a graduate degree at New York University and thanks her former professors and student-worker supervisors from URochester for helping her get there by guiding her through the enrollment process and writing letters of recommendation.

That same sense of support and encouragement inspired Liverpool to give back through the Meliora Collective Mentorship Program, where she now volunteers as a mentor to current students.

I realized that even as a recent grad, my experiences matter. I can help someone who’s just a few steps behind me.

Victoria Liverpool stands beside a University of Rochester Women’s Summit sign, wearing a red blazer and black outfit at the event. — Victoria found community at the Women’s Network Women’s Summit in New York City in 2025, where she also volunteered as a speaker.

For Liverpool, giving back is also a way to stay connected to a place she still loves. “It’s like a piece of campus stays with you,” she says. Mentoring current students has allowed her to stay in tune with the University, and over the years, her mentees have become friends, broadening her Rochester network. “When you reach out, whether it’s to a professor, a friend, or a fellow alum, you’re reminded that you’re part of something bigger.”

Her advice to new graduates?

Don’t wait for connection to find you. Go find it. “Show up to that event. Send that email. Check in with your old professors. The relationships you build through Rochester don’t end at graduation; they grow when you nurture them.”

–Mary Burke, November 2025