Many worries about finding a job after graduation begin while searching for internships during their junior year.
As a senior, I, too, experienced this dread last year before securing an internship with Congressman Trent Kelly, which has led me to pursue a Master of Public Administration degree after graduation.
As a psychology major, I decided to pursue a career in government after getting involved with the Stennis-Montgomery Association (SMA). Last March, I was invited to visit Washington D.C. with SMA, where we had the opportunity to meet members of congress from Mississippi and Mississippi State alumni who worked on Capitol Hill. Prior to this visit, I had applied for several D.C internships but was unaware of how competitive the intern selection process was.
During our final night in D.C., all of us were invited to attend a networking event hosted by MSU Alumni Association, where we met individuals who worked in D.C. and the surrounding areas. At this event, I connected with Jessica Pettis, an MSU alum who worked as the scheduler for United States Representative Jared Moskowitz.
During this conversation, I introduced myself and discussed our mutual interest in electoral politics. I later mentioned how I was struggling to land an internship, and she then provided me with her contact information. I reached out to Pettis the following week, and she provided me with the email address of her colleague at Congressman Kelly’s Office. I then reached out to him and met via Webex, where he asked me to send my resume and two recommendation letters. The next morning, I received an invitation to interview around the afternoon and was hired the following Thursday.
Through this series of events, I quickly realized how important networking was and that a great resume was not enough to secure an internship. Because of this, I now believe that a networking class at Mississippi State University would be greatly beneficial, as it would help students grow professionally and improve employment outcomes for MSU alums across the country.
While more than half of MSU graduates decide to stay in Mississippi, there are still many graduates who decide to relocate to other states to seek employment. As of a February 2025 report from the Alumni Association, 67,967 of the 157,002 addressable alumni live outside of Mississippi. This number was striking to me as it represents just how vast MSU’s Alumni Network is across the nation. States with the most addressable alumni include Texas, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia.
According to the MSU Alumni Association website, 25 states have MSU alumni chapters. These chapters provide graduates with the opportunity to find community and make professional connections. While the alumni chapters can aid graduates in their professional journeys, networking can still seem like a daunting task for individuals with little to no experience.
For some, the perception of networking is that it is only for individuals in select fields and that it is more like an interview. Gil Carter, an associate professor in the MSU Department of Communication says connections are important in every area.
“Even if you’re a software engineer, you stay in your cubicle all day long, to get that job, somebody’s got to hire you,” Carter said. “And often to stay happy in that job, you’ll need to get to know people.”
Isaac Sivils, a senior communication major with a concentration in public relations, also shared how networking helped him before coming to MSU. Sivils says his connections were able to smooth the transition into college and find resources to get a job once in Starkville.
Another benefit of offering a networking class is that it allows students to improve their interpersonal skills and gain a better understanding of workplace etiquette.
“Most of the time, if somebody works a job and it doesn’t work out, it’s because they didn’t get along with people at the office,” Carter said of workplace norms and communication skills.
More broadly, a networking class could help rectify the lack of proper social skills that Generation Z is often perceived to have and provide students with the tools and knowledge to help them succeed in the workplace.
Additionally, many students are already required to take a public speaking course, and adding on a networking course would provide even more benefits as students will gain skills preparing them for life after college.
While networking courses are offered through the Career Center website through LinkedIn Learning, I believe that the most effective way to learn networking is through an in-person course offered by MSU faculty, as the LinkedIn Learning courses are not. Many MSU faculty members are experienced networkers themselves and can provide the structure and interactivity that a video is unable to provide. Whether it’s as a one-hour seminar or a three-hour course, any skills related to communication are best learned through interacting with our peers.
I believe by offering this course, MSU students will be able to have a greater advantage nationally and better compete with applicants coming from larger universities. While this course will benefit students professionally, I also feel that, by potentially increasing the rate of employment across the board for MSU graduates, it will provide MSU with another opportunity to raise its status nationally and globally.
