ATLANTA ALUMNI & NETWORKING DAY
Brought to you collaboratively by the offices of
Career Services, Alumni Affairs, & Development
and sponsored by
The QEP
PRESENTED BY
MICHAEL DESPEAUX, CHRIS MUELLER, MARTY RAMSEY,
& STUDENTS
MANY THANKS TO:
THE QEP STEERING COMMITTEE
DR. CAROL BURTON
MR. RICKY LANNING
EVERY EDUCATOR WHO NOMINATED A STUDENT
MS. FREYA KINNER
DR. ROBERT CROWE
MR. GREG BAUGUESS
MS. MARDY ASHE
MR. WHIT FRANCE-KELLY
MS. CINDI MAGILL
MS. Jill INGRAM
MS. ASHLEY EVANS
THE WESTERN CLUB OF GEORGIA
SELECTION
– CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
– 28 RECEIVED
– 21 APPLIED
– 16 SELECTED
THE DAY
•
•
•
•
BOARDED VANS AT 6:30 AM
MET MENTORS AT THE PERIMETER MALL
STUDENTS LUNCHED WITH HOSTS
GATHERED AT THE DALE CARNEGIE TRAINING
CENTER
• REFLECTED ON EXPERIENCE WITH ALUMNI PANEL
• DINNER WITH ALUMNI
• HOME BY 2:00 AM
WESTERN CLUB OF GEORGIA
WESTERN CAROLINA ALUMNI BENEFIT FROM NETWORKING
WITH ONE ANOTHER, AND SEEK WAYS TO STAY INVOLVED
HOSTS
Kicks 101.5 FM
Genuine Parts, Inc.
Physical Therapy
Professional Probation Services
Coca-Cola Customer Business Services
EIS, Inc.
Conditioned Air Systems, Inc.
Riverside Military Academy
Merrill Lynch
U.S. Department of Labor
Cobb County Sheriff’s Office
HOSTS SAID…
“It exposed the students to real time work
experiences. It also provided those of us who were
shadowed to provide such information through work
experiences.”
“[The most positive thing was] providing exposure to
the student of the business environments, hearing
and seeing a small bit about the “real world”,
providing the student with a frame of reference for
the future job search, as well as helping the build a
network of contacts.”
“My student was very informed and articulate. He had
a good sense of who he is and where he wanted to go.”
“I thought that that I got as much from this as they did.
A group of enthusiastic young folks , not touched by
cynicism and ready to go out into the world was
incredibly uplifting for me. From their standpoint,
seeing the reality of the world and hearing us comment
on our own experiences was very good as well. You
chose the candidates wisely and I believe you should
replicate this in Atlanta again and well as other
southeastern cities.”
“My student had a great ability to listen. Plus he tried to
look at my field of work from my perspective.”
“I hope you have other shadow days scheduled in other
cities such as Charlotte, Greensboro, and
Raleigh. Smaller cities should not be overlooked, but
until the program gets well established, this would be
excellent.”
HOW DID THIS PROGRAM QUALIFY
FOR SUPPORT FROM THE QEP?
GOALS
Integrate information from a variety of contexts – Students will
connect their academic and career interests to ‘real world’
scenarios by shadowing a professional in the field.
Communicate effectively and responsibly – Students will
communicate their career interests first in an application letter, and
then in a meeting with an alumni mentor who will guide their
shadowing experience. They will also participate in both formal and
informal reflection activities requiring verbal communication skills.
Clarify and act on purpose and values – Student will observe and
spend time with career role models and gain perspective to help
them intentionally use knowledge gained from their learning
experience to make informed judgments about their future plans,
and bring those plans into action.
OUTCOMES
• Concretely, students will gain knowledge and
perspective regarding the workplaces associated
with their chosen career areas.
• They will become more knowledgeable about how to
proceed in the real-world application of skills gained
in their curricular and co-curricular experiences and
in the implementation of their careers.
• They will gain important mentorship and networking
contacts with regional alumni based in the largest
metropolitan area in proximity to WCU.
ASSESSMENT
THE COULTER FACULTY COMMONS CREATED A
STUDENT EVALUATION BUILT AROUND THE
THREE QEP OUTCOMES AS WELL AS COMMON
STUDENT GOALS THAT WERE HARVESTED
FROM THEIR APPLICATION LETTERS
Participating in the Atlanta Networking Day has
been a positive experience for me.
6.67%
93.33%
Agree
Strongly agree
"The openness of our hosts and how they welcomed
us into their corporate offices in such a willing
manner."
Participating in the Atlanta Networking Day has given
me insight into my future career plans.
6.25%
93.75%
Agree
Strongly agree
"The greatest benefit I gained from participating in
Atlanta Networking Day was knowledge of what a
day in the life of a [professional] is like."
"Shadowing" a working professional helped me
gain useful professional advice.
100.00%
Strongly agree
"The greatest benefit I gained from participating in
Atlanta Networking Day was having seasoned
professionals mentor me about what is necessary to
be successful in a career."
Atlanta Networking Day helped me connect my
WCU experience to my career interests.
26.67%
Agree
Strongly agree
73.33%
"The greatest benefit I gained from participating in
Atlanta Networking Day was making connections and
apply[ing] some of the concepts I have learned in
class."
Participation in Atlanta Networking Day has
allowed me to "network" (i.e., make connections
with industry professionals).
13.33%
13.33%
Disagree
Agree
Strongly agree
73.33%
"The greatest benefit I gained from participating in
Atlanta Networking Day was forming connections and
understanding the procedures taken in [my field]."
The “hands-on” aspect of Atlanta Networking
Day helped me…
11.11%
22.22%
66.67%
Better understand
my chosen career
Make career
decisions
Apply classroom
learning
The greatest benefit I gained from participating
in Atlanta Networking Day was…
5.56%
16.67%
38.89%
Real-world
knowledge
Networking
Professional advice
Career decisions
38.89%
One thing that surprised me about participating
in Atlanta Networking Day was…
25.00%
43.75%
Real-world
knowledge
Affective outcomes
Other "surprises"
31.25%
To improve next year’s Atlanta
Networking Day, I suggest…
12.50%
37.50%
12.50%
More time
No changes
Program expansion
Less time
Other suggestions
12.50%
25.00%
2011 STUDENT CONTINGENCY
ANTHONY BALLARD, ACCOUNTING, FINANCE, & ECONOMICS
DANIEL BARNES, CRIMINAL JUSTICE
TONY EAVES, BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION & LAW
CHRISTINA FOSTER, PSYCHOLOGY & CRIMINAL JUSTICE
RENE GAMEZ, ACCOUNTING
NATE HUNZAKER, COMPUTER INFORMATION SYSTEMS & MARKETING
STEPHEN KUMMER, BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION & LAW
REBECCA LAUTIER, COMMERCIAL & ELECTRONIC MUSIC
BRITTANY LYSIK, SPORT MANAGEMENT
JEREMIAH MOSTELLER, POLITICAL SCIENCE
REBECCA OATES, CRIMINAL JUSTICE
SHANNON OWEN, FINANCIAL PLANNING
MICHAEL MCLAMB, MANAGEMENT & FINANCE
ZACHARY RUMBLE, PSYCHOLOGY
ASHLEY VANDENHEUVEL, FORENSIC, CRIMINAL JUSTICE & SPANISH
BEN WARD, ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE
•EARLIER CALL FOR NOMINATIONS & APPLICATIONS
•IDENTIFY CANDIDATES IN FALL
•POSSIBLY TRAVEL TO MORE THAN ONE CITY AFTER
MATCHING CANDIDATES WITH HOSTS
•STUDENTS MAY HAVE TO PAY, BUT THE COST WILL BE
NOMINAL
•RETURN DEPARTURE TIME WILL BE REASONABLE
•DEVELOP APPLICATION CRITERIA (GPA,
RECOMMENDATIONS) AND PROCESS FOR INDIVIDUALBASIS OPPORTUNITIES THROUGHOUT YEAR