This past Saturday, my a cappella group, the After School Specials, packed up and headed south to San Diego for a regional collegiate a cappella invitational. Besides the fact that the concert was extremely fun and our group totally rocked it, the whole event was a great lesson in networking.

The event was called the Acapocalypse and was hosted by the a cappella group Pointless at Point Loma Nazarene University, which has a beautiful campus literally on the ocean. Seven groups from around Southern California performed in all, and the show also included a beat boxing battle. Here’s our beat boxer, Pomona freshman Pranay Yeturu, wowing the crowd with his 30 second piece (he won, if you were wondering). As the group’s Event Coordinator, I’ve been interested in increasing our presence off of the 5C campus. We perform on campus very often, whether for school sponsored or student run events, but haven’t spent much time touring other campuses or performing at invitationals alongside other groups from the area. In an attempt to change this, we’ve been carefully cultivating our Facebook and YoutTube page and were delighted to have been invited to the Acapocalypse, especially when the student organizing the event told us he had found out about us through Facebook and by watching our videos. Online presence and how you portray yourself in different online communities can really make a difference in how a group is perceived in the a cappella world, and I anticipate the same being true for me personally and my forthcoming career search.

Daniel, Aleina, and I during vocal warmups for our performance at the Acapocalypse

Throughout the event and afterwards at the get together Pointless hosted few were able to mingle and get to know groups from other schools (including USC and SDSU). This was fantastic because we were able to connect with groups that we hope to host here at the 5Cs and possibly travel to perform with at their colleges or universities. Members of different groups were able to bond over a shared love of music and interest in getting to know others involved in collegiate a cappella. Just as I’ve found in situations that allow for networking related to personal career, finding commonalities and shared interests can be a great entry point to making a connection with someone who you might benefit from knowing or who might benefit from knowing you in the future. It’s great to keep your options open and make contact with as many people as possible, plus it’s just fun to meet new people and hear about their life and career experiences. I think immediately of an event in Beirut that surprised me as being a fantastic networking opportunity: a homebrew festival at the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon. At this event, I was able to make a connection with someone who worked in the Foreign Service over how completely adorable I found his dog, pick his brains about the Foreign Service exam and his experience working for the State Department, and get his email for further questions and help. I also made connection with the CEO of one of the top brewing companies in Lebanon (961) over the fact that I work in a brewery when I’m home in Santa Cruz who after our chat offered me a job working for him whenever I’m back in Lebanon. Moving back to Beirut is an option for after graduation, so having some possibilities already set out should that happen is fantastic.

The group got to stop at the beach on our way to sing to enjoy some sun and stick our toes in the water

Back to a cappella—the trip also reminded me of how essential to life being able to take things in stride and problem solve can be. Continue reading →