Time to pick-up my cap and gown!! Can this really be the “final stretch?”
Hey everyone,
Wanted to share with you the exciting news that I just learned of soon after I picked up my cap and gown the other day. The timing could not have been better. After completing a small survey and waiting in line for my cap and gown in the David Center, I thought back how it seemed like just yesterday I was in the same spot to pick up my welcoming package before moving into my freshmen dorm, now I was surrounded by friends that I had made over the years and grew so close to that it felt as if we were having a small family reunion at the time. Ok, so I know you’re probably saying…so what’s the big news?? Well without any further delay, I found a letter in my campus mailbox notifying me that I had made it to the next step of the yStark Fellowship Program!! For those who are not familiar with the yStark program, it is a department of the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce that provides professional development for our areas young professionals. Since the day I saw their posters around campus looking for highly driven, motivated leaders that would like to make a difference throughout the county, as well as earn a full-time job, I was convinced this opportunity was my calling. The thing is that at the time of applying, I knew the basics of the program and loved the opportunities available for the fellows accepted. However, it wasn’t until the Walsh Career Development Department held a career networking night, what I was able to learn a great deal about what this program could offer graduating seniors such as myself, as well as the dynamic impact that the participants make on the entire community.
The set-up of the career network event, in my opinion, worked very well. Students were divided into several groups, with about 5-6 students and 2 professionals in each group. These young professionals would speak to us about their career choices, how they achieved success, and “words of wisdom,” that we could use as we venture quickly into our future endeavors. After about 10 minutes, these professionals would all play musical chairs and switch groups so that we would get several different perspectives in about an hour. During each rotation, questions were welcomed, and there was additional time given after for students to talk one-on-one with yStark members. The entire evening was highly beneficial for me, as I felt that I had made the best choice in choosing yStark as a potential future career opportunity. I didn’t know at the time that I would be meeting some of the leaders from the program, I must say I was a little nervous when I was introduced to these members, but I quickly found out that they were simply interested in what are plans for the future were, and what we had done so far. Walking back to my dorm after this event I felt that in spite of our poor economy that I had the chance to still come out on top and ahead of the game because of events such as this career night, as well as organizations such as yStark. Looking forward to everything the future has to hold for all of us! Best of luck to you all!
Check out these links below I think you will find them very beneficial, as always feel free to message me on here or at christopherburr@walsh.edu for any additional questions, comments, or concerns:
Have a great weekend everyone
