Rising and graduating seniors heard career advice from numerous professionals, including Elon alumni, during Transition Tactics, a seminar hosted by the Elon Career Center Wednesday, May 19. Details...
The innovative one-day program helps students polish their job skills through a variety of sessions on topics including business etiquette, financial planning, networking and other strategies.
During a morning panel discussion, students heard from a panel of four Elon alums about their personal experience in the business world. Patrick Riddick ’96, an inventory specialist and a musician who formed the popular local band Dakkota with several friends during his undergraduate days, told students they will continue to learn long after graduation.
“You are going to learn so much about being an adult,” Riddick said. “You are going to learn some incredible stuff about life.”
Sandra Reid ’85, area administrator for the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in Winston-Salem, talked about her first job after college.
“I was bringing home about $800 a month, and $400 of that went towards rent,” Reid said. “I didn’t live a very lavish life, but I had what I needed.”
Greensboro attorney/sports agent Jason Knight ’96 said new graduates should not be afraid of learning to live on a tight budget.
“The thing you can take comfort in is that all of us can look back and say it worked out,” Knight said.
The keynote speaker was Ann Marie Sabath, president of At Ease, Inc. Sabath’s firm specializes in domestic and international business etiquette programs. Sabath’s concepts on business etiquette have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Delta Airlines’ Sky Magazine.
Other guest speakers included Kathryn Larson, a financial planner with American Express; Melanie Rights, regional recruiting manager for Enterprise Rent-a-Car; and Debarah Wilson, a management professional who works with job seekers.
The Elon Career Center has offered the Transition Tactics workshop in a variety of forms for 11 years. The program won a national best program award from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) in 1998.
Leslie West, a rising senior and Spanish major from McLean, Va., says the program is giving her confidence while helping her to define her career goals.
“I feel so much more inspired,” said West. “I feel like now I can go out there and do it. It gives you confidence, when you hear from Elon alums who are successful, that you can be successful too.”