Virginia Young Professionals Gather for Summit Co-Hosted by RU
Hundreds of Virginia's best and brightest young professionals spent Saturday, March 29, meeting, mingling and learning with their peers at the fourth annual Virginia Young Professionals (YP) Summit
The event, spearheaded by Senator Mark Warner and co-sponsored by Radford University and Virginia Tech, was held in Tech's Lane Stadium. Attendees gained insights on everything from the importance of creating meaningful connections, to personal branding, leveraging social media and resume and interview tips from employers.
Sen. Mark Warner addresses a captive audience at the 2014 Young Professionals Summit.
In his remarks to the group, Warner reminisced about his own experiences as a young professional, and more importantly, how he learned from his failures. He told the audience of Virginia YP’s that “there’s nothing wrong with failure; it’s how you respond to it.”
Warner went on to say the chances he took in his early professional days eventually set him up for his later success.
RU President Penelope W. Kyle addressed the young professionals at an evening reception that took place after lectures and events were concluded for the day, thanking Radford's cosponsors and the attendees for their commitment to the summit.
“You young professionals are facing a world so unlike the world I faced," she said. "You are all attacking it in this most remarkable way. My hat is off to all of you and what you're doing, to how you're going about creating this brave new world."
The young professional summit also received perspective from an even younger source when keynote speaker Jack Andraka, a 17-year-old inventor, scientist and cancer researcher, impressed the audience with his remarkably inspiring story of perseverance and determination. At 15, Andraka invented an inexpensive diagnostic test to detect pancreatic, ovarian and lung cancers earlier than was previously possible.
During the day, RU Dean of Students Irvin Clark also made an appearance at the summit when he moderated a panel titled "Land the Job You Want – Resume and Interview Tips from HR Professionals." Clark guided the conversation among panelists to help attendees understand what they were facing in the job search landscape.
In a question that set the tone for the afternoon, Clark asked the panelists and attendees to think about "how you differentiate yourself to an employer? Why them and why you?"
More than 300 Young Professionals attended this year’s summit.