BY MINDY PIERCE
Lions’ Pride Sports Editor

Photograph by Sally Burns

Students listen to the panel of speakers at the profession networking seminar.

Although the Fall Professional Networking Event got delayed due to an accident on I-75, students had already begun their quest to network with professionals in SLU’s own boardroom above the café.  After all the distinguished speakers had arrived, the night kicked off.

Students were informed before the event began to dress in business attire which all ties into the theme’s event with networking and giving great first impressions to professionals who are higher up in one’s future profession field.  The evening’s dressed up event was to also give student’s a “head’s up” in the business world.

The first to speak was senior student Lianna Nancoo, and her message was, “We are products that have to be sold, and sold to the highest bidder.”

The host for the evening was Derek Lloyd who gave the students two pieces of advice, “Find a mentor, and develop a passion.”

The first distinguished speaker was Uday Lele who is the epitome of a “creator of new wealth.”  He is the founder of the Juicee Gummy, the first ever invention of candy filled with fruit juices.
His piece of advice to students?  Anyone can discover new wealth by offering a unique product, something that changes from a want to a perceived need.

Lele left the students with, “You don’t need money to do business; you just need a good idea.”
With a memorable controlled afro flat top, Motown Maurice was the second to speak who owns his own broadcasting company, Motown Maurice Productions Inc., and is co-host to a Saturday daily show, “The Citizens Report” and hosts the public access show “Out Side The Box.”

He told the students that people will remember you, and that it does not hurt to have your own branding.

His advice to the job seeking students was to make a good impression, make sure the conversation is interesting, follow up to the people you meet, and find communication preference to the person you are networking with.

Maurice reminded students to never “underestimate the power of picking up the phone.”

Roxanne Bartley, the fourth panelist and president of Bartley Ventures, LLC, is a leading consulting firm in the Accounts Receivable Management industry.  She has helped grow 25 to 100 employees and increased revenue from 5 to 15 million dollars while her time with Bartley.

Bartley stressed the importance of her profession, “The collection industry is a very crucial part in the world economy.”

This ties in with networking because her industry is fairly recession resistant which is important during these hard economic times.

Her piece of advice given to the prospective professionals when job searching, “Leadership is a key tool in order to be successful.”

Saint Leo’s very own graduate from the class of 2006 provided their own panelist for the Professional Networking Event, Copley Gerdes.  His energy deflected differently than all of the previous speakers as he walked in front of the students instead of the standard podium.  Gerdes coached at SLU for three years, and now he works at FrankCrum, an employee recruitment company in Clearwater, FL.
His message was finding a passion and to stick with it.  When asked a question from a student about finding one’s own passion, Copley admitted that although he enjoys working at FrankCrum and is pretty good at his job, his true passion in life is baseball.  He stressed the importance of setting aside time for one’s passion, even if is not their job.

While at Saint Leo as an undergraduate student, Copley advised to “Take advantage with all of the opportunities SLU has to offer.”

The fifth distinguished guest to speak was Vanessa Vazques-Yuret who began her career as a secretary in the field of her dreams and worked her way up as she joined the Editorial team of the only Pulitzer Prize winning English only publication in Puerto Rico, the San Juan Star.

Vazques-Yuret admitted that she loves the smell of ink, and she knows newspaper is her passion, because ink does not even smell good.

Her motto was, “Believe in what you do, and develop your passion” and “Do your job with passion.  Give your 100% in everything.”

The final distinguished guest, Passard Dean, an Assistant Professor of Accounting at SLU, holds both his Doctorate and Master’s degree concentrate in Accounitng.  He has over 15 years of corporate accounting and finance experience and began his real passion in life just 5 years ago, teaching.
“It’s not just who you know,” Professor Dean stressed to the students.

“It’s who you know, what you know, and how you know it.”

Dean did not have the easiest childhood and explained that when growing up in Jamaica, there was love and whooping in his household.

As everyone laughed, Dean made the setting to a more serious setting explaining, “My parents always prepared me to be someone better.”

After all of the panelists had spoken, the event followed with Q & A from the students directly to the panelists.  One distinctive question directed to all the guests was, “What is the one thing you should keep in mind while networking?”

The answers ranged with having 100% confidence in oneself, sincerity, make them laugh, “be yourself”, and to being an attractive candidate meaning dressing and acting professionally.

The evening ended with one-on-one student-panelist interaction to begin the networking journey.

For some students, this was an eye opener to the networking business world, and for others, it was just another opportunity to meet someone that may be able to help them get their dream job one day.