On Friday, October 11th from 9:00 am to 11:00 am there was an Alumni Career Insight Symposium held at the J.D. Boyd Library in the Medgar W. Evers Auditorium on the campus of Alcorn State University (ASU). Felecia Pittman, Director for the Office of Career Services, coordinated the event along with students from the Department of Mass Communications.
The event was designed to have alumni come back to the Alcorn campus and give advice to students on how to have a successful career. The occasion was to be lively but very informal for the students. Each speaker was introduced by the Mistresses of Ceremony, Senior Mass Communications major Amari Ferguson and Senior Mass Communications major Aerial Robinson. With a song and their favorite memory of Alcorn prominently displayed on a screen the speakers made their way to the stage in style. The speakers featured Denise Burns, Workday Talent Acquisition Consultant, Densel Fleming, Chief Wealth Investment Officer, Marcus Griffin, District Conservationist, Ladarrion Holloway, Host Aviation Resource Management Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge, Levell Spencer, Human Resource Management for Caterpillar Incorporated, and April Stampley, Administrative Assistant for the Center for Biotechnology School of Agriculture and Applied Sciences at Alcorn State University.
The speakers were asked a series of questions by the students in attendance mostly concerning life after graduation. Denise Burns suggested to the attendees that in order to make themselves stand out more that they should let a potential future employer know what they can bring to the table and then stick by what they say. All of the speakers had good advice and insight on how to set up life after college. They all had their own unique experience on how they got to where they are today, but they had one thing in common which was that they all had to work hard and learn how to network.
Each speaker reminisced about Alcorn and told of the amazing education that they received. Ladarrion Holloway said that being from a small Historically Black College and University (HBCU) he still has some of the same tools as someone who attended a Predominately White Institution (PWI) because of what Alcorn instilled in him. The speakers came to the event to help students and it showed in how they interacted with the audience. After their individual presentations students were able to talk to the speakers one-on-one and learn more.
For more information about upcoming events that the Office of Career Services will be providing for students you may contact Felecia Pittman at (601) 877-6324 or frpittman@alcorn.edu.