The Lebanon Valley College Men's Soccer team strives to provide its players with meaningful experiences on and off the field, preparing them for success after graduation. The program worked toward this mission by attending the fourth annual LVC Success Expo on April 1. 

The LVC Success Expo, presented by the Breen Center for Career and Professional Development, included the Pathways to Professions [All Majors] Career Fair, a keynote speaker, financial workshops, and an etiquette dinner. 

All current Men's Soccer student-athletes attended the keynote speech, "Picking Yourself Up from Failure," by Tunji Adebayo, the career fair, a financial workshop of their choice, and the etiquette dinner. 

"Our experience at the Success Expo was extremely positive and beneficial for our team," Head Coach Charlie Grimes said. "Our guys embraced the opportunities to grow and develop their networking skills. Several of them have already received offers for summer internships. A huge part of the culture in the Men's Soccer program is preparing our guys for life. The benefits of the Success Expo and the excellent work of the staff in the Breen Center have added tremendous value to this pursuit and we appreciate their efforts." 

The team prepared for the career fair by meeting with the Breen Center the week before to learn how to provide prospective employers with a 30-second "elevator pitch." Junior forward Nathan Prex shared that he enjoyed the different events and benefited from meeting professionals. 

"It was easier than I initially realized," Prex said. "I did my best to find common ground with the career professionals, or I asked questions to let them talk and provide me the information that I was looking for."

Prex connected with companies including Hunter Truck and Erie Insurance, and he plans to stay in contact with the businesses as he begins to make post-graduation plans. First-year midfielder Simon Grimes echoed a similar sentiment, conveying that he met with multiple professionals and learned skills at the etiquette dinner he implemented at a business lunch shortly after the event. 

"It was a good learning experience in presenting myself and good for connections that have come to fruition," said Simon Grimes. 

First-year midfielder Ollie Lynch also spoke with different companies at the fair, which led to an interview for an internship. Lynch said that he gained important skills at the etiquette dinner as well, where the team and other attendees were taught how to make a positive impression at a meal. 

"After the dinner portion, the speaker discussed post-meal etiquette while not," Lynch said. "This included how to act around employers and tips to make yourself stand out. Overall, the etiquette dinner taught me usable skills, including how to be polite and professional at the dinner table while also branching out to other professional events."

Along with the professional events, the team learned methods to overcome adversity through Adebayo's keynote speech. The Dutchmen held a follow-up meeting to discuss the speech and implement those ideas. Lynch said that he and the program plan to incorporate Adebayo's strategy for conquering failure through the acronym FORE, which stands for fear, opportunities, risk-taking, and endure. 

"We gave examples on how we can demonstrate each letter to make sure everyone is on the same page," Lynch said. "On our team, there is a role for everyone, whether you're starting every game, coming off the bench, not playing at all, or are injured, everyone has something to contribute."

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