Networking for newbs: USU alumni share real-world experience

Last Thursday, Oct. 8, students were given the opportunity to get to know potential employers.

This event, run by the Student Alumni Association, or SAA, is self-descriptive — it is one of the first experiences students may have to network and get their names out there for potential job offers.

Dave Smith, a venture capitalist, was present at this event. He gave a short speech, and then students had time to talk to him.

“It’s better to talk to someone who has gone into that field and navigated it,” said SAA president Oakman Kennedy.

The event was an opportunity for students to talk, familiarize and discover. It was a way to get their names out there and strike up a flow for potential jobs or gain ideas for how they want to go about finding a job after college.

“I think a lot of students are just like, ‘Where do I even start?’ This is a great opportunity to start,” said Rachel Fressh, SAA’s Public Relations Director of social media. “Let’s be honest, it’s about who you know, not what you know nowadays.”

Rachel brought up the fact that many students can graduate high school with a college degree. With degrees being earned more frequently, students find they need to promote themselves or be within close proximity to potential employers.

Networking for Newbs has been running for about three years. SAA wanted an entry level activity for students who are new to networking in a non-threatening environment.

“It gives students an idea, and I think it reassures everyone. It’s not a clear-cut path. I think too often in education people think that it’s ‘Go to school. Get a degree. Get a job,’ when in reality it’s not as clear-cut as that,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy believes that it takes more work than just getting a degree for students to have work after they graduate.

“Sometimes it’s go to school, and maybe take time off, come back to school, maybe get a job, change your major a few times — and even after that I think there is kind of that feeling that you will see the light at the end of the tunnel. Well, graduated students will tell you that that tunnel opens up into a field of nothing, which is the funny part about it,” Kennedy said. “The hope is that we can create all these networking chains for students so that they can kind of say ‘Okay, here is where I want to go’ and kind of establish themselves after that.”

SAA cares about students and genuinely wants to help them get their footing when it comes to actually getting a job. There are many opportunities on campus, whether it be socially or academically.

But when it comes to getting a job, as Kennedy said, it can be a little more difficult. Now there is an easier way for students to extend themselves and create relationships that will benefit them in the long run, through networking in SAA’s programs.

“Opportunities don’t always come knocking,” Kennedy said.

The Student Alumni Association is just that — an opportunity. Maybe a little work is required, but if a little effort is given, reaping the benefits is more likely.

SAA has three main pillars: networking, student giving and tradition. In addition to Networking for Newbs in fall, the association hosts events called Alumnights. They are nights for a students to get up close and personal with successful, graduated Aggies and talk about success after college.

— roniastephen@gmail.com