Panel Discussion of Young Professionals set for March 18 at West Virginia State University

3/14/2013

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Contact: Dr. Donna M. Simon
(304) 766-3363
dsimon@wvstateu.edu
 
   
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Virginia State University (WVSU) students and guests entering the workforce this spring will hear real world advice from young professionals on how to launch their careers Monday, March 18, in the Wilson University Union on campus beginning at 12:30 p.m.

 “Generation WVSU – Wisdom, Vision and Success through Unity,” the panel discussion will take place in room 134 of the Union and is expected to last until 1:30 p.m. The event is free and open to WVSU students, graduates and the public.

The panelists, most of which are recent college graduates themselves, will speak on their professional experiences and are expected to give students advice on searching for a job, areas where job growth is expected, how to transition from a student to a professional, and using social media effectively in a job search.

“This will be young people mentoring young people,” said Bobbie Spry, president of the Pinnacle Honor Society for non-traditional students, one of the event’s sponsors. “These are people who have not been out of college very long themselves and have already achieved a level of success who are willing to share advice on what it takes to get there.”

Participating in the panel discussion are: Julie Warden, regional director of career management for Vandalia Consulting, which owns West Virginia Junior College; Matthew S. Tyree, a law associate with Jackson Kelly PLLC who works in their environmental practice and coal industry group; Dr. Lisette Jean-Jacques, a psychologist and postdoctoral fellow at Clayman & Associates; Brian Savilla, a WVSU graduate who is a former member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and is now a financial representative with Northwestern Mutual Insurance; and Megan Tarbett, a reference librarian at the West Virginia Library Commission who produces the Library Update television program.

A question and answer period will follow the panelists’ presentations.

Lunch will be provided by the WVSU Student Government Association and door prizes will be awarded.
Generation Charleston, Pinnacle Honor Society, SGA, Career Services and Cooperative Education, National Broadcast Society, Box 5 Theatre, the C.E. Jones Historical Society, PRSSA, International Studies, YANSA and Alpha Kappa Psi are among the sponsors for the event.

For more information, contact Career Services and Co-Operative Education at (304) 766-3236.
                                                                                       
West Virginia State University is a public, land grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi-generational institution, located in Institute, W.Va. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service, and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.