For the past nine years, Communication, Media Arts, and English students have gotten the unique opportunity to not only network with potential employers and gain knowledge from people currently in their desired field, but also put their creativity to work. On Wednesday, April 3 from 8 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. the tenth annual “Creativity at Work” was held on the third floor of the Charles L. Sewall Center. The day began with a light breakfast as well as registration, followed by all the students gathering in the International Suite for tips on networking before breaking into their individual sessions.

Scott Golmic, Katie Kirkpatrick, Chris Roberts, and Sarah Smith were the alumni that came from a variety of fields who spoke about their networking success stories and gave the students advice. Questions that the panel answered were derived from from a survey that went out to students months prior to the event that asked what the students both wanted and needed to know. They first discussed the unique and unexpected ways of which they acquired their internships and current jobs, as well as the role networking played in that process.

The sessions that were offered for career panel discussions were Advertising and Public Relations, Design and Multimedia, Television and Video Production, and Creative Careers Potpourri (focused on event planning, journalism, photography, and theatre). Each session had four panelists that are extremely experienced in their individual fields. Students were given the opportunity to attend two of the four so they might not only attend a session elaborating on what they are studying, but get the chance to learn about something they may not be very familiar with in order to expand their horizons.

Following the sessions students had the chance to network with the professionals that were on panels throughout the day

Over 1,000 students over the years have walked away with more than just a set of tips for acquiring a job in the future, they have learned valuable lessons about the careers that they aspire to have someday.