Networking and Career Planning for OSU Student-Athletes

STILLWATER - The Student-Athlete Leadership and Professional Development department recently hosted a networking event for Oklahoma State student athletes in Boone Pickens Stadium.

"This student-athlete networking event was designed for local employers to come in and network with our student athletes," career coordinator Lerin Lynch said. "This experience allows our athletes to gain professional networking experience and get some tips and tricks from people within the industry."

Student athletes who attended were able to take a professional headshot with clothing provided by William & Lauren. In addition, they were able to mingle with employers from 12 different companies such as Joe Cheek of Williams who were willing to help out the Cowboys and Cowgirls in any way possible.

"I just want to be here for them and help them out," Cheek said. "I've already spoken to a few different student-athletes and some are really good communicators who have it nailed down and there are some others who are struggling a little bit. I think it's good to be able to be here, talk to them and talk about what their desires are and where they want to go with their careers."

For the student athletes, the event provided an opportunity to accomplish different goals based on their level of comfort and experience in a professional setting.

"Having these little events where we are able to network will help us in the future," Cowgirl soccer player Ary Purifoy said. "My career is sports management, so hopefully I can get in contact with some people that will help me toward my end goals."

While Purifoy and some were looking for potential connections to begin advancing their careers, many others used the time as a chance to step outside of their comfort zone.

"It's a good opportunity for me because I haven't been put in too many of these situations," wrestler Travis Wittlake said. "Honestly, I've never been to the career fair or anything, so this is kind of my first time doing something like this and it's something I definitely need to expose myself to."

Being a student athlete at OSU already puts the Cowboys and Cowgirls at an advantage in many of the employers' eyes. David Chaney attended the event because he has hired several OSU athletes in his time at Legacy Planning Partners that he called "awesome additions" to the company.

"Our organization works as a team, so when you know an athlete is kind of meant to be on a team side then it makes a difference," Chaney said. "The work ethic they've been used to their whole lives to achieve their goals bleeds over into the real world and it's hard to find that."

A new department for Oklahoma State athletics, Lynch and four others work to set up Cowboys and Cowgirls with the skills needed to become leaders in their industries following graduation through events like networking social. Although it hasn't been around long, the athletes are already appreciative of the work the department is doing.

"By putting on this event Oklahoma State is proving that they don't only care about what we do for them as athletes, but they also care about our futures and our careers," Wittlake said.

The student-athlete networking event is just one of a few events that the leadership and development department is working on to help its Cowboys and Cowgirls prepare for their futures. Cowboy football seniors are the first to try a project Lynch and the department is hoping to expand to the rest of OSU athletics soon.

"We are testing out a 'Suiting Up Seniors' program and our football student-athlete seniors are here," Lynch said. "With that program they are going through a résumé review, they have to attend this networking event and they are also doing an etiquette dinner at the end of November. The hope is they come to all of these, get them done and then they will be awarded a suit. We have a partnership with a suit company called Reveal Suits to reward them for that. If this goes great, then we are hoping to open that up to all senior student athletes coming up."

A redshirt senior on OSU's football team, Braden Cassity is one of the student athletes who have gotten to be a part of the Suiting Up Seniors project so far.

"It's huge," Cassity said. "This is a great opportunity that not every school does. It's something that is unique about us and we're getting custom suits as well. A lot of guys, myself included, don't really know proper etiquette and stuff like that, at least at a high level. This kind of event where they get everyone together and we learn how to do things the right way is awesome. It really does mean a lot to us. We were talking about it earlier that not every school is doing this, so it's a big deal for us at Oklahoma State."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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