ATLANTA ALUMNI & NETWORKING DAY

1. 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

2. 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

3. SELECTION • CALL FOR NOMINATIONS • 28 RECEIVED • 21 APPLIED • 16 SELECTED

4. 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

5. WESTERN CLUB OF GEORGIAWESTERN CAROLINA ALUMNI BENEFIT FROM NETWORKING WITH ONE ANOTHER, AND SEEK WAYS TO STAY INVOLVED

6. HOSTSKicks 101.5 FMGenuine Parts, Inc.Physical TherapyProfessional Probation ServicesCoca-Cola Customer Business ServicesEIS, Inc.Conditioned Air Systems, Inc.Riverside Military AcademyMerrill LynchU.S. Department of LaborCobb County Sheriff’s Office

7. 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.”

8. “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.”

9. “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.”

10. HOW DID THIS PROGRAM QUALIFY FOR SUPPORT FROM THE QEP?

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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

19. The “hands-on” aspect of Atlanta Networking Day helped me…

20. The greatest benefit I gained from participating in Atlanta Networking Day was…

21. One thing that surprised me about participating in Atlanta Networking Day was…

22. To improve next year’s Atlanta Networking Day, I suggest…

23. 2011 STUDENT CONTINGENCYANTHONY BALLARD, ACCOUNTING, FINANCE, & ECONOMICSDANIEL BARNES, Criminal Justice TONY EAVES, BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION & LAW CHRISTINA FOSTER, PSYCHOLOGY & CRIMINAL JUSTICERENE GAMEZ, ACCOUNTINGNATE HUNZAKER, COMPUTER INFORMATION SYSTEMS & MARKETINGSTEPHEN KUMMER, BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION & LAWREBECCA LAUTIER, COMMERCIAL & ELECTRONIC MUSIC BRITTANY LYSIK, SPORT MANAGEMENT JEREMIAH MOSTELLER, POLITICAL SCIENCE REBECCA OATES, CRIMINAL JUSTICESHANNON OWEN, FINANCIAL PLANNINGMICHAEL MCLAMB, MANAGEMENT & FINANCEZACHARY RUMBLE, PSYCHOLOGY ASHLEY VANDENHEUVEL, FORENSIC, CRIMINAL JUSTICE & SPANISHBEN WARD, ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

24. 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 INDIVIDUAL-BASIS OPPORTUNITIES THROUGHOUT YEAR