-: You can learn a lot at Penn State.
Academically, you're gonna come out with a whole bunch
of knowledge that you wouldn't get in a lot of other places.
But that ability to meet people and build relationships
and create lasting relationships is a skill
that is not widely known or even owned at this point.
I go to networking events, and you will find adults
that have been in that space for 20 years.
And they still don't know how to talk to people.
They still don't know how to introduce themselves,
and just having the confidence and the desire
to try can go a really long way.
So you go into those events, you walk away meeting
so many new people.
And in the immediate moment,
you may not feel like those things actually provide value
to your career.
But then a month down the road, a year down the road,
a situation will pop up that somebody asks you
for help with.
And you don't know how to do, but you met somebody
that has this experience.
And you can reach out to them and connect the dots.
That only makes the relationship stronger,
so I think networking is imperative because, particularly
as a consultant, because ultimately, we get viewed
as a trusted advisor that a client wants us
to solve all their problems even though we may not know
all the answers.
So having an expansive network allows us
to solve those problems even
without necessarily having all the expertise.