Jehu Chesson: Preparing for a Career after College Athletics
2/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Jehu Chesson, Senior/Junior Wide Receiver
On Tuesday night (Feb. 10), I participated in the annual Michigan football alumni mentoring networking event for the third time. The event is organized by Clay Miller, who was an all-conference offensive lineman at U-M in the 1980s, and is spearheaded by dozens and dozens of former players who come back each year because they genuinely want to make an impact on the current players and help them succeed in life after football. We had approximately 107 former players at the event and alumni from all sectors of the corporate world, ranging from general management and entrepreneurship to finance, banking, real estate and law enforcement.
After a late afternoon run with the team back at Schembechler Hall, I arrived at the event -- which was held in the Jack Roth Stadium Club at the Big House -- around 4:15 p.m. Even though we were told we could dress in business casual attire, I wanted to make a good first impression. It is my personal belief that the way you dress reflects how much you care about an event, so since I had adequate time to get dressed up, I decided to wear a coat, dress shirt and new bow tie, which my grandma gave me for Christmas. I didn't really know how to tie it, but fortunately my teammate Bo Dever was there to help me out. I'm not sure if it will be my go-to look in the future, but I got a lot of compliments on it, which is always good to hear.
The event started with a meet-and-greet between the current and former players over appetizers and other refreshments. It was a great opportunity to gain experience with informal networking while catching up with players we had previously met or were meeting for the first time. We chatted for about 20 minutes, then moved down the hall and began meeting in stations. Former players sat at tables around the room and the current team went around and had 10-15-minute conversations with alumni in career fields that interested them. Most of the conversations I had were one-on-one, which allowed me to learn a lot about each field. I enjoyed the stations because the former players didn't just talk about themselves and their careers. Instead, they were there to offer great advice and advise us on what our next step should be if we wanted to enter that field. A lot of these guys are very successful, many even run their own companies, but to them there were no dumb questions because they were all in our shoes at one point in time, allowing them the ability to know the player perspective.
I went to a lot of different tables, trying to take in as much as I could. The one that stood out in my mind was the general management table, where I was able to talk to CEOs about what goes into their decision-making process on a day-to-day basis. A lot of the same principles they use to make big decisions are principles I have learned here at Michigan. What I took away was that whether you are a CEO, an employee, a player or a coach, the team always comes first when making a decision. It doesn't make any decision easier or harder, but these CEOs, just like our coaches, put the team or organization (the needs of the customers) first when making key decisions. We play the ultimate team game here with football, but once you leave and enter the real world, it is also a team game inside a successful organization.
After about an hour of networking in those small groups, we went down to the third floor for a gourmet dinner. Clay Miller began the dinner portion by thanking all of the former players who traveled from across the country back to Ann Arbor for the event. During the dinner, I sat next to Ed Muransky, a former offensive lineman here, who has established a successful business career after his playing days. His biggest advice to me was "keep your eyes open and trust your blink." He talked to me about being technically sound in your field yet displaying a strong work ethic is an equally important attribute that can separate you from the pack. To be mentioned again, the meal was outstanding, which is no surprise, because when you go to Michigan, you get the best of the best.
Our keynote speaker during the dinner was Tom Dixon, a former center, who is now a very successful attorney. His message to the team was "take everything you can out of Michigan." He stressed to us that there are so many resources this university provides, and it is up to us to seize those opportunities. What stuck with me was when he told us that just because you represent the block M doesn't mean you are entitled to anything. At the same time, the block M will always give you opportunities -- and it is up to us to execute on those opportunities when they are presented.
Ever since my freshman year on campus, Shari Acho, the director of the M-PACT professional and career transition program, and her staff have been very supportive of my development process here, and this event, which seems to get better and better every year, is an example of that support. Last summer, I was fortunate to intern at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, which was a great experience. This summer, I'm still not too sure what I want to do yet, but since I was able to network with so many former players in all different fields, I have plenty options to look into. We are very blessed and very fortunate to participate in an event of this caliber at a university that genuinely cares about player development and allows and encourages us to build a network while we are still in school. As I mature and grow, I realize more and more why Michigan is considered such a special place and am grateful for all of the special opportunities I am afforded here.
Jehu Chesson is a redshirt sophomore wide receiver on the University of Michigan football team. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Chesson is enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and Arts.
