3/12/2015

Turning connections into career opportunities

Turning connections into career

opportunities
Connections made as students later turned into career opportunities for
Colleen Callahan 09 G10, Tim Johnson 09 and 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
Left to right: Colleen Callahan 09 G10, Tim Johnson 09 &

company, ZICO Beverages.

Will Anderson 13

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

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Turning connections into career opportunities

beyond an initial connection. The Elon Mentor Network and the Elon Job Network are great, but they
cant 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 true
statement 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 can
be a good resource. My best recommendation is to do as much as you can for others. That way when
its 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 when
an 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 opportunity
to reconnect with alumni in your area during the 2014 National Networking Event Series. For
more information or to register, visit www.elon.edu/alumninetworking.
Keren Rivas, Staff

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