BATON ROUGE, La. – The Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes’ Shaquille O’Neal Life Skills Program recently hosted a networking event, The Pursuit, to help student-athletes mingle with potential employers and help them begin to think about life after athletics.
No student-athlete really wants to think about collegiate athletics ending, but it’s inevitable. The Pursuit had 41 representatives from Baton Rouge and New Orleans businesses, graduate schools and law schools.
Among the 28 businesses and schools present were Campus Federal, Raisin’ Canes, Teach for America, Loyola University and LSU Law Schools, State Farm, Republic Finance, and more.
The student-athletes had the chance to speak to the representatives and ask questions about available jobs, graduate or law programs and what their work days are like.
Scarlett Williams, LSU gymnastics senior and an accounting masters student, said that this event was a, “great way for student-athletes to network and form relationships with these employers.”
This event not only gives the student-athletes practice networking with employers, but, as Shaquille O’Neal Life Skills Manager Brent Sumler said, “It also helps student-athletes build important networking connections for later on in life.”
The representatives from each business had a chance to speak with the student-athletes about future career goals and aspirations. Blaine Grimes, Community Affairs Financial Education Director for Campus Federal, attended the event. Grimes said that, “the LSU Career Symposium for Student Athletes is an excellent opportunity for both student athletes and corporate executives to have one-on-one conversations about corporate America.”
Campus Federal has attended this event for ten years. Grimes explains the importance of this networking event when he said that this “event prepares student athletes for real life and the success of this program alone puts LSU at #1 on and off the field and court.”
With over 40 business representatives and tremendous participation from our student-athletes, Sumler said, “this event was a huge success, and we’re looking forward to next year.”
The Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes is a 54,000 square foot facility comprised of academic affairs, student affairs and an information technology teams, serving more than 530 student-athletes. The purpose is to provide an all-inclusive, student-centered support structure for all student-athletes from matriculation, through graduation and life beyond.