In the last issue, we asked for words of wisdom that could be shared with CFAES students. Here is career advice from two of our own.
- Dr. Andy Swiger, former dean of Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and a 1954 CFAES animal science alum, offered this career advice:
Do not actively seek advancement. Rather, let it come to you because of your good works. This will lead to peace of mind and satisfaction.
We thank Dr. Swiger for his many years of service to the agricultural community!
- Adam Cahill, a 2005 agricultural communications alum, gives advice as a big part of his role as CFAES Career Development Manager. He stresses the value of networking to students and alumni alike:
Networking is huge when it comes to your career. You never know when you may have made a great or not-so-great impression on someone throughout your life. Every interaction is a potential deposit or withdraw in your “career savings and loan bank”. My believe is that the higher the balance, the more your career will blossom, thrive, and grow.
I cannot even begin to quantify the value of the relationships I have had over my career and how each individual has been a benefit to the work I do and I to theirs. It could be someone I met at a state 4-H camp, while a part of a college student organization, a competitor on the soccer field, someone I met at an alumni Fallfest football tailgate, a family friend, a colleague from another university, or even someone I met while attending my college orientation.
Network every time you have the opportunity to because you never know what may become of it. As I always say, “It’s not who you know. It’s who you know that also knows you… and chooses to acknowledge it."