MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Nearly 70 West Virginia University student-athletes gathered inside the Touchdown Terrace at Milan Puskar Stadium for the Second Annual Networking Night on Tuesday evening, where they had the opportunity to learn about and engage with more than 20 companies from a myriad of fields.
 
The event, organized by West Virginia's Student-Athlete Development staff, was strategically scheduled for the week of WVU's Career Fair. It afforded junior and senior student-athletes the chance to speak with recruiters and business owners in a more personal setting, some of whom exchanged information with hopes of increasing the likelihood of gaining an internship opportunity toward a future career. The event also was held in the evening to provide a networking opportunity for those whose class and practice schedules may have precluded them from making it to the traditional career fair held at the Mountainlair on Wednesday.
 
"The purpose of Networking Night is to provide a comfortable environment where our student-athletes can come and meet people who are in their field or in a field that they may have interest in," said Tangela Cheatham, WVU's Director of Student-Athlete Enhancement. "We want them to come network and find out more about the possibilities in life after college athletics."
 
The companies in attendance represented numerous industries spanning from engineering to finance to management to non-profit organizations and everything in between. Local and national organizations were in attendance, as well.
 
"After I graduate, I'm going to have to go out into the real world and talk to people who don't necessarily know or care if I was a student-athlete," said Erin Slinde, who is a junior on the WVU volleyball team and is the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) co-president. "This event was a great opportunity for me to get a chance to talk to people I don't know, and I thought it was really cool to go out and make those connections."
 
Networking Night is one of many events that Cheatham has put on since her arrival at WVU in 2017. As the Director of Student-Athlete Enhancement, she is responsible for organizing and implementing Life Skills programs for all student-athletes, including career services, personal health and well-being, financial management, leadership and diversity and inclusion.
 
"Tangela does a great job planning events that are going to help student-athletes achieve their goals after college," Slinde said. "Only a lucky few of us will go on and play at the next level, but it is really important that these events are offered to us and that we are able to take advantage of them. I think it is really great that we have a person dedicated to specifically that and making sure that student-athletes get what they need to be successful in their careers."
 
"Seeing our student-athletes excited and prepared to network makes it all worth it for someone in my position," Cheatham said. "The feedback we have received from students and employees has been nothing but positive."
 
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com.