Coming up on my final fall and I can already see things falling into place. It's crazy how God gives you what you need right when you need it. I was just telling Des that I really didn't know where life was going to take me. And honestly, I still don't know. But I do know that I have a network that includes and reaches further than White Rock Baptist Church, UNCG, and Alpha Phi Alpha.
If I could give incoming students one word of advice, it would literally be one word - "Network." As a noun, it really means nothing... Verizon is a network. Yahoo.com is a network. Shoot, the city you live in is a network. Making that word a verb is when the noun "network" actually works for you. This summer, I am going to compile a list of people up and down the East coast that I know who are in fields that I wouldn't hate working in. Then I'm going to write them a letter seeing if they have any openings in their companies and I am going to include my resume.
I don't want to come out of school with an hourly job. There is nothing wrong with that if that's what you are doing but it's not for me. I don't need $80,000/year (though God in heaven knows I won't turn it down), but I also don't need to know that, if I miss a day because I'm sick, my budget for that month will be short. Not only did I go to school to get an education, I have worked my backside off to make connections that will not only help me but also put me in a position to help those around me. Reko is going to come out of school after me needing a job. I want to be able to put him in touch with people who can help him. Philip is going to come out after that. I want to do the same for him. And later on for my kids. Networking is not just taking. It is also giving back. I have to put myself in a position to take and give and eventually stop taking but never stop giving.
Litera scripta manet. - Unknown
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