3/12/2015 Turning connections into career opportunities

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Left to right: Colleen Callahan 09 G10, Tim Johnson 09 &

Will Anderson 13

By Erin M. Turner 15

Networking has proven to be a positive tool for

members of the Elon University community.

Alumna Colleen Callahan 09 G10 discovered that

last year when she helped Will Anderson 13 and

Tim Johnson 09 land freelance positions at her

company, ZICO Beverages.

We were looking to showcase one of ZICOs

athletes, Dean Karnazes, said Callahan, the

companys social media manager and a 2010 graduate of Elon's interactive media program. We

wanted to make a short video to show how he implements ZICO into his diet and what makes him

special.

Mark Rampolla founded the company in 2004 when he first discovered coconut water as aPeace

Corpsvolunteer in Central America. As an athlete and advocate for healthy living, Rampolla saw the

opportunity to distribute coconut water in the United States as a nutritional beverage, and also boost

the economies of coconut-producing nations.

As students in the School of Communications, Callahan, Anderson and Johnson knew of each other

while at Elon and remained close after graduation, which played a vital role in leading Callahan to bring

Johnson and Anderson on board for the project. We needed a producer at a good rate and although I

actually never worked with Tim directly while at Elon, he has been good friends with my friends for quite

some time and had an amazing reputation with all of his work being top notch, so I knew hed be a

great fit, Callahan said.

Johnson and Anderson worked with the companys marketing and video production team to help

rebrand ZICO Beverages as a sports drink and not just as a nutritional beverage. The result was a video

highlighting how Karnazes, an ultra marathon runner, implements ZICO Beverages into his diet.

The project presented a great opportunity for Anderson to not only gain professional experience but

also to work alongside Johnson, who together with Max Cantor 09, produced an award-winning video

for the Elons Office of Admissions in 2011 and more recently an alumni video for the Office of Alumni

Engagement.

Johnson said networking is about establishing relationships, which is only accomplished by going

Turning connections into careeropportunities

Connections made as students later turned into career opportunities forColleen Callahan 09 G10, Tim Johnson 09 and Will Anderson 13.

3/12/2015 Turning connections into career opportunities

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beyond an initial connection. The Elon Mentor Network and the Elon Job Network are great, but theycant do much for you if you dont take the initiative to be proactive, he said.

Callahan said their story is a great example of how important networking is. Its a tried and truestatement that is all about who you know; its how Ive gotten all my jobs after graduation, she said.Networking shouldn't be something you pick up and drop once you have a jobanyone you meet canbe a good resource. My best recommendation is to do as much as you can for others. That way whenits your time to call in a favor, they have no problem doing so.

Johnson agreed. Going the extra mile can be the difference between a contact thinking of you whenan opportunity comes up and having it pass along to the next person.

This story is part a series highlighting the power of the Elon network. Dont miss the opportunityto reconnect with alumni in your area during the 2014 National Networking Event Series. Formore information or to register, visit www.elon.edu/alumninetworking.

Keren Rivas, Staff 1/23/2014 10:35 AM