NASHVILLE, Tenn. The importance of networking was the central theme at the Meharry-Vanderbilt Student Alliance’s annual Back-to-School Picnic on Sept. 22.
MVSA President Terry Lyles told everyone gathered at Nashville’s Centennial Park a network was defined as “a group or system of interconnected things and people.”
Those people, he said, may come from different places and have different ideas, but they still come together to form a single unit. “When I read that definition, the first thing I thought of was the Meharry-Vanderbilt Student Alliance,” he said.
It was important, Lyles continued, to maintain and grow a network by constantly building communications and relationships.
“Regardless of our professions, it’s important to know different people in different fields of life,” he said. “You never know who you’ll meet in life. Life is unpredictable. You’ll never know if that one person you met yesterday might be the reason you’re here tomorrow.”
Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance Executive Director Dr. Consuelo H. Wilkins, MD, MCSI also attended the picnic and commented, “We were so pleased to see members of the MVSA gather together as classes resume. We hope they’ll realize the importance of networking while in school and remember that importance as they enter the workforce.”
About the Meharry-Vanderbilt Student Alliance
The purpose of the MVSA is to encourage students from each campus to meet each other, to identify common interest, to pursue joint projects, to approach community outreach together, to have joint recreational activities and to help define the process for making the MVA beneficial to their educational experience. In addition, the student group serves as the forum for addressing all student matters, announcements, etc. across institutions.
About the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance
Founded in 1999, the Alliance bridges the institutions of Meharry Medical College and Vanderbilt University. Its mission is to enrich learning and advance clinical research by developing and supporting mutually beneficial partnerships between Meharry Medical College, Vanderbilt University and the communities they serve.
