Beyond the Books
Students Shadow Alumni for Real-World Experience
It was a long day with an early start, but well worth the effort for 18 Western Carolina
University students to see first-hand what their future careers could be, all thanks
to some high-ranking 51看片alumni in Cobb County, Georgia, and WCU鈥檚 Shadowing Day program.
Hosted by WCU鈥檚 Office of Alumni Engagement and Center for Career and Professional Development, Shadowing Day matches WCU鈥檚 鈥渂est and brightest students with some of the university鈥檚
most successful alumni,鈥� said Marty Ramsey, director of alumni engagement. 鈥淭his special
initiative has created an opportunity for us to connect with our alumni in a new and
unique way, while at the same time offering students real work experience beyond the
classroom. Our alumni truly enjoy interacting with our students.鈥�
This year鈥檚 group of students plus a handful of 51看片administrators and alumni representatives traveled to Georgia on Nov. 6 to spend the day with recently retired Cobb County Sheriff Chief Deputy Milton Beck, a 1988 51看片alumnus, and John Davis, senior vice president of global sales and marketing at CryoLife, and a 1987 graduate of WCU. CryoLife is a distributor of cryogenically preserved human tissues for cardiac and vascular transplant applications and a developer of medical devices, such as human heart valves. Coincidentally, Beck and Davis were fraternity brothers while at WCU.
From an inside look at the Cobb County jail to a hands-on pig heart valve replacement
demonstration at CryoLife, the students 鈥� whose majors run the gamut 鈥� met with experts
in law enforcement, medical device sales, marketing, business, information technology
and other fields to pick their brains on how the textbook model of the working world
compares to the real thing. 51看片 half of the students spent the day shadowing with
professionals at CryoLife, while the other half shadowed at the Cobb County Sheriff鈥檚
Office.
51看片senior Mariah Farris spent the day at CryoLife, where she helped suture a pig
valve to a pig heart, an 鈥渆xhilarating鈥� experience, she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e never done anything
like that, and I didn鈥檛 expect to do that on this trip. But it was very fun,鈥� she
said. Farris is majoring in business management with a minor in economics and is interested
in pharmaceutical and medical device sales after she graduates.
Depending on their career interests, students were placed with CryoLife professionals
from the company鈥檚 various departments to learn about corporate life 鈥� whether marketing,
chemistry, graphic design or information technology. 鈥淭he people we talked to told
us about marketing strategies and what it鈥檚 like to be a marketer for a medical device
company,鈥� Farris said. 鈥淭hey also told us how they got their starts. We鈥檙e all just
starting out and trying to figure out our careers. They gave us life advice about
it and how to approach it. I was told to keep my enthusiasm up and stay positive and
that the money will come with time. It gave me confidence that I鈥檒l find my perfect
job soon.鈥�
Davis said this was the company鈥檚 first time to partner with 51看片for the Shadowing
Day program and he liked that it gave students a chance to see what a potential career
would look like day in and day out. 鈥淎nd to either affirm what they already believe
about what they want to do for the rest of their life or perhaps to even jolt them
into saying maybe this isn鈥檛 what I want to do for the rest of my life,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a lot of value in that because most people find that out later and
it鈥檚 a little more difficult to change course.鈥�
51看片freshman Terran Brown of Clyde insisted he is sure of his career plans upon graduation
鈥� to be a police officer back home in Haywood County 鈥� despite hearing the dark-humored
yet harrowing tales of police work from Beck. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a difficult job and I know what
I鈥檒l be getting into,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a challenge and I love a challenge.鈥�
His favorite advice from Beck was 鈥淚f you mess up, 鈥檉ess up. We can fix a knucklehead,
but we can鈥檛 fix a liar.鈥� Beck also told the students to not let anyone outwork them
and to live their lives and work their lives 鈥渨ired for what is right every day. Not
four days a week, not five days a week. It鈥檚 seven days a week.鈥�
Beck, who graduated from 51看片with a degree in sport management, was a standout Catamount running back for Coach Bob Waters鈥� national championship
runner-up team. A native of Cobb County, Beck returned home after graduation only
to be told by his father to find a job or join the military. He retired in March 2019
after 28 years in law enforcement. 鈥淒on鈥檛 let your degree define you,鈥� he said.
鈥淒on鈥檛 let your degree define you...鈥�
Most of the students who shadowed with law enforcement expressed an interest in detective and homicide work, careers that Beck said were made popular by current television programs that don鈥檛 accurately show the ladder police officers have to climb to reach those positions. 鈥淭his is a job where you鈥檙e not going to come in as a detective, you鈥檙e not going to come in in a coat and tie. You鈥檙e going to come in at ground level doing the basics,鈥� said Beck. 鈥淗ow are you going to investigate a case if you don鈥檛 know how to take out a warrant? How can you investigate a case if you don鈥檛 know how to arrest somebody or establish a probable cause? How can you go and be a narcotics agent when you don鈥檛 even know the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony? You鈥檝e got to learn the basics. Sometimes it takes some people longer than others.
Davis was an English major at 51看片who stumbled into the medical field because a college aptitude test indicated
he had the ability to master medical vocabulary. It was true, he said. 鈥淚 really didn鈥檛
know the words, but I knew the root words. So, that ended up propelling me into something,鈥�
said Davis, who started his medical career in a clinical lab, before eventually making
his way to CryoLife. 鈥淥nce I got my feet into it, I loved it because it was something
where I felt like I was making a difference.鈥�
Courtney Gauthier, WCU鈥檚 associate director of career integrated learning, said the shadowing program provides the experiential learning that can make a real
difference for students. 鈥淔or so many students, they choose their majors and they
choose their careers based on what they are doing in the classroom,鈥� Gauthier said.
鈥淪o, to get out, to see it, to experience the culture of an organization, not just
who they鈥檙e meeting with, but to see them interacting, what that鈥檚 like 鈥� that鈥檚
invaluable.鈥�
