Maeve McCarthy, a Freshman majoring in Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, discovered the power of networking during the Fall of 2024.
Maeve’s networking approach aided in getting a summer 2025 internship with Barrick Gold where she will be stationed at the Turquoise Ridge Underground Geology in Nevada.
Maeve’s approach can be broken down into four critical steps.
- Per the advice of a faculty member, Maeve reviewed the Society of Economic Geologists mentors and made a lists of those with similar interests.
- Maeve then sent individualized emails to each person, which included an introduction, explanation of how came upon their information, and expressed interest in learning more about the mineral exploration/mining industry and potential opportunities.
- She kept the email conversations going with those that were open to interacting. Some of those exchanges evolved into face-to-face discussions either in-person or virtual.
- Maeve maintains the connection with some of her new contacts as needed.
“I have a whole lifetime of a career so it’s very good to meet people” – Maeve McCarthy, ’28
One of the connections encouraged Maeve to apply for a summer internship with Barrick Gold and also provided additional contacts within the company. Maeve found out that she hadn’t gotten the position applied for, but that her information was now in the system and she could potentially be contacted about other opportunities. That is exactly what happened during the 2024 Thanksgiving break! Maeve received a call about a different internship opportunity, had a brief interview, and landed the summer internship.
Maeve shared advice for first-year students who are just starting to think about networking – “Doesn’t have to be perfect, but you should start”.
