Residential College South takes residents on networking trip in Nashville

Marvin King, Faculty Fellow of the Residential College South, took fifteen students to Nashville to meet Ole Miss Alumni and tour facilities there. 

Students lunch with alumni at the First Amendment Center of Nashville. 

          Fifteen students loaded for the five-hour drive to Nashville early Friday morning. Lead by Faculty Fellow Marvin King, the caravan went to network with alumni of the University of Mississippi and tour multiple facilities.

Marty Dickens (right) and Charles Overby (left) host lunch
at First Amendment Center Friday. 

          After months of planning and contacting alumni in Nashville, King said he was pleased with the trip. 

“I think it went well. It met or exceeded most people’s expectations," King said. "We didn’t really know what we were getting ourselves into but all of the alumni were really accommodating and that made a big difference." 

       The first stop for the attendees was the First Amendment Center of Nashville, hosted by prestigious journalist Charles Overby and businessman Marty Dickens. Students lunched with Overby before touring the Center, which holds a brief history of media representation.

           The group then made their way to the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, where they met president and CEO Michael Burcham and took a tour of the facilities. Freshman mechanical engineering major Bryce Johnson stated that he received the most advice at this stop. 

"Talking with Michael opened my eyes to how rigorous the demands for an entrepreneur are," Johnson said. "Even though not everyone came back with a job offer or connection, we definitely got a lot of advice about how to network and what to expect in the real world."
Later that evening the students attended a panel of alumni at Caterpillar Financial Center.  There students got the opportunity to question a surplus of graduates and receive their recommendations. The panel consisted of many different occupations and areas of interest. 

Students attend tour of the Entrepreneur Center Friday evening. 

"The panel was very beneficial because it gave us a lot of real life advice," freshmen Ariyl Onstott said. "At college you hear a lot of people in college, whether its students or faculty, that give a lot of great advice on how to get internships, careers and experience but nothing can compare with talking to people who are out there in the real world.”

       Saturday morning brought the group to Puckett's to meet a new group of alumni over brunch. Mikael Naylor, mechanical and electrical engineering major and attendee, favored the informal brunch. 

“My favorite stop on our trip was having brunch at Puckett’s Saturday morning,” Naylor said.

“It was an easier environment to talk in and far more personal. We were able to learn from people who have gone through everything we are going to go through. No matter what industry you’re going through there are certain things that always apply such as networking and applying for internships. Though I was not able to contact anyone in my field I was able to make some great connections and find some possible internships."

Attendees have informal lunch with alumni Saturday at Puckett's. 

  
   The trip would not have been possible without the dedication of King and the alumni who attended, Naylor observed.

“It was a good opportunity and it’s certainly not something I would have been able to do on my own. I’m so proud Dr. King was able to come up with this program and contact everyone who came," Naylor said. "It was such a valuable experience."

        When King took on the position of Faculty Fellow at the Residential College South, he guaranteed that he would bring big changes. Months later, evidence of those changes are increasingly evident. 

"I’m just excited to see the students excited," King said. "To see that they might get some opportunities out of this makes my day."