On Thursday, April 24 I attended the PRSSA networking event in the Montante Cultural Center. I had never been to a structured networking event before so I was curious to see what was in store.

The event began with a speech from Zack Schneider who talked about his education and career path and how he started 15 Fingers. He talked a lot about following your passions. I found it very interesting that he only has a 5 person advertising team, yet is able to accomplish so much. Next, Therese Hickok spoke. Therese spoke of her many different careers and how they have all shaped her.

After the speeches we could sit down at any of the tables with the professionals and network with them. I was interested to hear more from Therese Hickok so myself and a few others decided to sit down and talk with her more. She has had so much experience and was very knowledgeable about marketing, advertising, and PR. We asked Therese her opinions on everything from grad school to finding jobs out of state. No matter what the question, Therese was able to answer it in a very helpful manner. Listening to her speak was helpful, but actually having the opportunity to sit down and talk with someone is so much more valuable. I decided to stay at Therese’s table for the remainder of the event because I was very intrigued by her career path and found her advice to be valuable.

Networking events, like this one, are great opportunities. Even though I only networked with one person at this event I still walked away with a lot of valuable information and a new connection.