Young professionals to offer career guidebook to IVCC students

A quartet of young business professionals will be sharing their insights with Illinois Valley Community College students this month and gauging their interest in a mentor program.

The presentation at noon on Monday, April 29, in C325-326 will feature four representatives of Ottawa Network of Young Executives (ONYX), a networking organization for young professionals developed through the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce.

Anthony Williams is a credit union branch manager. Stacey Brown is a bank loan officer. Josie Navarro is program director for a non-profit. Caitlyn Tucker operates a children's entertainment company. The panel presents a variety of career paths and backgrounds, Williams said.

“We’ll share how we got the roles we’re in and what we do, our business insights and insights for students looking ahead to internships, a job or opportunities in business, management, marketing, banking and more,” he added.

Those are topics Williams says he didn’t know in college. “I didn’t know the resources out there, or what to look for or what opportunities to jump at,” he said. “What do students now wish they had, going through their classes?”

Williams also wants to know whether students would be interested if ONYX creates a mentor program and what students would expect from such a program.

Choosing and pursuing a career isn’t the same for everyone, he said. “I changed my degree seven times. Life is full of course corrections, and it’s OK to change your degree and not rush through college. You’ll learn a lot in the process.”

For more information on ONYX, visit https://onyxillinois.com/.