DAVIS, Calif. -- The UC Davis intercollegiate athletics department ran its second Aggie EVO System Networking Event in the ARC Pavilion Special Events Room prior to the men's basketball game against Long Beach State Saturday. EVO Pro members from various industries – many of whom are former Aggie athletes themselves – met with 19 student-athletes in a round-robin format..
Among the primary objectives of Aggie EVO is to create a network of professionals – known collectively as the Aggie EVO Pro Team – through which current student-athletes may prepare themselves for career launch. The first networking event took place during the football season in November.
The roster of EVO Pro members comprise Austin Beckwith (Five Star Bank), Bob Bullis (retired UC Davis senior associate athletics director), Bob Shults (Verux, Inc.), Bob Tate (The Tate Group), Bruce West (West Yost Associates), Chris Bradford (Bradford Investment Services), Garry Pearson (UC Davis Dept. of Plant Sciences), Greg Ley (Merrill Lynch), Kelsey Fischer (Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood Campora), Patrick Michelier (UC Davis Dept. of Orthpaedic Surgery), Mike Shaw (Lawrence Livermore Laboratory) and Scott Barry (playwright/author/actor).
"Helping out my alma mater is one of the things that interested me in attending this event," said Beckwith, a 2015 UC Davis graduate in economics and a standout for the men's water polo team. "Getting involved with the career fairs that took place was something I did not take full advantage of when I attended UC Davis. I wish Aggie EVO was around when I was a student-athlete, that is something I would have valued.
"This is the advice I want to share with student-athletes today: Remain open-minded with the process, it is ok to not know exactly what career you want to pursue. Hats off to those individuals who grow up with a specific goal in mind, like being a firefighter, but I grew up not knowing what career I wanted to pursue.
The student-athlete attendees were Sione Aliki (football), Melissa Ardila (field hockey), Tatiana Arias (field hockey), Alexandre Dujardin (soccer), Anthony Easter (track & field), Ido Goldschmidt (water polo), Luke Hazel (soccer), Lauren Hooyer (water polo), Stasia Kubicki (track & field), Wallis Lapsley (soccer), Darius Livingston (football), Emily Meyer (track & field), Roland Ocansey (football), Hilary Ojinnaka (track & field), R.J. Quigley (water polo), Jack Stafford (water polo), Holden Tamblyn (water polo), Aliyah Walker (soccer) and Jordan Werkmeister (water polo).
"I was very unsure about what to do with my life once I graduated," said Arias, a third-year managerial economics major from Fallbrook, California. "I am trying to figure things out, and feel that this event is a great opportunity to meet a lot of individuals, and learn from their experiences to figure out what professional path I want to take.
"The EVO program is something that I am very thankful for. A lot of people think being a student-athlete means that someone just focuses their time and energy to a sport, school, and that is it. EVO taught me that being a student-athlete is more than just working hard to win games, there is a group of individuals that is working hard to help individuals succeed after graduation. For me, that is something I find important."
The Aggie EVO staff, helmed by senior associate athletics director Michael Lorenzen, hosts numerous opportunities for student-athletes to meet with EVO Pro members, including regular "Coffee Talk" informal meet-and-greet events. The Aggie EVO Instagram (@aggieevo) features announcements, while alums and/or professionals looking to take part in future EVO events may do so by visiting this form: https://ucdavisaggies.com/sb_output.aspx?form=10.
ABOUT UC DAVIS: Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal, and among the top 10 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.
AGGIE EVO: Established in 2017-18, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.
