CREDIT: STEPHANIE LAI
From left: Chunyan (Lily) Hou, Lisa Rusal and Shreya Raj showcase Student 2 Business posters students will see around campus.

Industry leaders from nine different sectors will be accessible to students on March 11 at an event called Student 2 Business (S2B).

The event takes place at the London Convention Centre and is largely supported and sponsored by Fanshawe's Career Services.

Lisa Rusal, assistant manager of Career, Co-op and Community Employment Services at Fanshawe says while networking is sometimes heavily correlated with business and business students, this is an event for all to enjoy.

“Everyone who's going to want to work one day [is encouraged to come],” she said. “It is really an excellent opportunity to practice networking in a relatively safe place.”

Rusal says the following nine sectors will be represented at S2B:

• Manufacturing and construction

• Health/life sciences

• Marketing and communications

• Government and education

• Not for profit

• Professional services

• Services

• Finance and insurance

• Information and communication technology

• Entrepreneurship

Employers from London will be present at the event, and although not every student plans to stay after graduation, Rusal says employers may have offices elsewhere.

“Some of those employers could have offices in other urban centres, and some professions are pretty close,” Rusal said. “If I was in a niche occupation, I may know people in my occupation in Toronto and in Vancouver and from other places from being in conferences and such.”

Networking opportunities like this are golden because students don't get to practice the skill all the time.

“Networking is how you find work,” Rusal said. “I think it's really good and important too, networking — being able to practice networking.”

She did explain what networking is not.

“It doesn't mean going up to somebody and asking them for a job,” she said. “That's just going to turn somebody off.”

“Networking is getting to know someone — talking to them. People love talking about themselves — ask them about their career.”

Student ambassadors for S2B this year are Chunyan (Lily) Hou and Shreya Raj, both international students who think the event is beneficial as well.

“We come here as newcomers. We have no social relationships,” Hou said. “Sometimes we need some chances to promote ourselves.

Raj was excited to be able to meet new people.

“[Meeting] new people every day … can actually benefit us in the future,” she said. “I was actually glad meeting new people, and I used to be a very shy person.”

“This changed me. It's actually very pleasant. I feel so much better and confident as a student [and] as a person. I think this Student 2 Business [event] is going to help many more students just like me.”

The event costs $10 for students to attend and shuttling between the main entrance circle at Fanshawe to London Convention Centre will run every half-hour.

A photo booth will be set up in F hallway on February 9 where students can get their photo taken professionally for LinkedIn and other networking sites. The booth will be set up from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Visit ledc.com/s2b to register and find tips on networking. A list of employers is also posted online.