‘Mocktails and Mingling’ matches PC students with potential employers

Presbyterian College’s sixth annual “Mocktails and Mingling” event matched 30 students with more than two dozen professionals Tuesday to network with others and hone their interviewing skills.

Associate dean of students and director of career and professional development Kim Lane said “Mocktails and Mingling” aims to boost students’ confidence and create new contacts in jobs they may explore.

“We’re all about student success, and the best way for them to practice and model professionalism is getting them into a small, friendly, fun, and interactive environment where they have support,” she said.

Professionals represented various fields, including manufacturing, logistics, law enforcement, health care, technology, insurance, construction, real estate, and finance.

Students held a healthy set of expectations going into “Mocktails and Mingling.”

James Armell, a senior business management major from Greenville, said he came to the event hoping to explore the career choices he will face after graduation.

“I’m just looking forward to meeting a bunch of different people in their different fields and try to get a better idea of what it is I might want to do after I graduate. I want to learn what recruiters are looking for or what their experiences were trying to get jobs when they first graduated.”

Senior Bradley Britt from Conway said he wants to work in human resources. The business administration and history major said he hopes the contacts will yield opportunities in his chosen field.

Ndayishimiye Florence, a senior political science major from Dillon, said she hoped to score an internship in public relations or public analysis this summer.

“Hopefully, I can make a few great connections and be able to find an internships and, if not an internship, hopefully a job,” she said.

Christina Julien, a senior business and accounting major from Anderson, admitted being a little nervous from the start but looked forward to the opportunity.

“I came tonight to build my network and introduce myself to people in different fields to see what it is I might be most interested in,” she said.

Sixteen of the 28 career professionals who attended the event were PC alumni. Lane told students they were eager to give back to their alma mater and share their career journeys.

Nicole Sessoms is a real estate agent for Lane Properties and a branch operations manager for Fastenal, who graduated from PC two years ago. Sessoms said she enjoyed being back on campus to guide students.

“This has been very fulfilling for me,” she said. “I remember it was not so long ago that I was in school here and I had no idea what I wanted to do even as a senior. Now that I’ve established myself in the careers that I love, being able to come back and hear from students who are in the same situation I was in is awesome. It’s very nice.”

Kevin Yascur, a 2019 alumnus, is a construction risk analyst for Lima One Capital in Greenville. Like Sessoms, Yascur said he enjoyed meeting with new PC students.

“It’s always good to be back,” he said. “It was a little strange because I was sitting in the seats they were sitting in not too long ago. So, it’s different to be on the other side of the table having those conversations but it’s also super fun.”

Sessoms and Yascur were joined by PC alumni:

• Aubrey Dooley ‘15, IT senior project analyst, Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation
• Avril Fennell ‘12, clinical director, Gateway House
• Torrell Funderburk ‘11, chief information security officer, Maestro Health
• Morgan Giles ‘20, senior manager of accession, Precision Genetics
• Amber Giles Billings ’11, senior medical science liaison, Janssen Pharmaceuticals
• Jordan Hallums ’16, project manager, bu-st LLC
• Abigail Harrison ’21, talent acquisition specialist, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina
• Matt Henderson ’17, branch manager, Herc Rentals
• Edward Hunter ’19, account sales manager, Terra Nova Solutions
• Paul Klein ’11, certified public accountant, Love, Bailey and Associates
• Bryan McDaniel ’11, assistant to the city manager, City of Rock Hill
• Wilson White, agent, State Farm
• Rob Willm, ’16, ERP project manager, Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation

Other professionals who participated were:

• Caleb Allen, talent acquisition partner, TD SYNNEX
• Elliot Allen, general manager, Fastenal
• Phuong Beard, HR manager, MIC-Milliken
• Carl Cunco, special agent, Federal Bureau of Investigations
• Andrew Holsen, HR generalist, Pharmaceuticals Associates Inc.
• James Dean Houser, territory manager, Techtronic Industries
• Caleb Hudson, divisional recruiting coordinator, Techtronic Industries
• Kyle McClure, general manager, Cintas
• Kami Phillips, human resources manager, Cintas
• Jakob Schweiger, chief HR officer, bu-st LLC
• Paige Warren-Long, talent acquisition partner, BlueCross Blue Shield of South Carolina