The Dixie Sun

Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: DSC News

Media Credit: Zach Vu Freshman Whitney Snyder, a respiratory therapy major from West Jordan, speaks with Chriss Gassman, manager of Rebel Creek Ridge apaprtments. Rebel Creek employs student residents in exchange for housing.

Networking is an essential part of the college experience with finding the best classes to take, the most affordable place to live, job opportunities that will enhance a student's experience, and simply making friends and connections.

"My definition of networking is to talk to everyone you meet and find out a little bit about them," said Shari Gowers, a business and technology adviser.

Gowers originally began her career in Minneapolis at the age of 19.

"I networked every chance I got," Gowers said. "Networking helped me to be aware of advancement opportunities within a company and career opportunities in other companies just by knowing a lot of other people."

Gowers said a key to networking was collecting business cards.

"Whenever I had a question I could go through my business card file, find someone, and call them and ask them the question," she said. "This in and of itself is another step to networking. A network to me is like a business friendship."

Gowers said she encourages students to network through forming study groups, getting to know their instructors, and being familiar with all the resources on campus.

"Many students have gotten jobs [and] career opportunities through other students or faculty," she said. "It's like a friendship; the more you know a person the more you know how you can help them.

Bottom line: It's the word-of-mouth connections and professional relationships."

Gowers said networking is like someone paying the bill for the car behind him or her in a drive-through and that person in turn paying for the person behind him or her, and so forth.

But, she said, it's on a more personal level.

She said: "Something I always say is you never know when a new professional relationship will turn out to be the best relationship, or the opportunity of a lifetime. Unbelievable things happened because of it."

Kine Bjerga, a junior dental hygiene major from Cedar City, said she's found jobs, places to live and made new friends all through networking.

Continued...

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