Web Editor’s Note: This story was written for the MCOMM 3309 – News Editing & Reporting Class

On Sept. 25 Kathy Cornett, chairwoman of McCormick Company of Amarillo, spoke to the MCOM 1307 class about the advertising industry.

“It’s stimulating for me to see young people,” Cornett said. “WT is a very important source for us for employees.”

Cornett started working for McCormick Company forty years ago as a receptionist.

“If you have the urge, you’ll make it,” she said. “You can start small but in the end, it’ll be alright.”Cole Young, a WTAMU graduate, started at McCormick as an intern and eventually landed a permanent job there.

“It’s rewarding for me to come back and talk about where I came from and where I am,” Young said. “The innovation of the industry and how it’s always changing keeps us on our toes. It keeps us continually having to learn and progress with the industry.”

Cornett recommends that campus involvement is critical for students.

“I would say that every college student should get involved in campus or in charities,” she said. “Spend your time studying but enrich your life in volunteer life. Get a feel of what life is all about because it will build your social skills. Give back to the community or give to the needy.”

Young said he didn’t know what he wanted to do at the beginning of his college career but everything had changed when he decided to indulge himself into everything WT had to offer.

“I decide to dig deep and I created a tunnel vision of what I wanted,” he said. “My first goal was to graduate, then get the internship and then get hired on.”

Sonji Alexander, a part-time instructor, invited Cornett to speak to the MCOM 1307 class based on a recommendation from another faculty member.

“My former WT professor recommended her as an advertising professional,” Alexander said. “I made the contact and we decided on a date.”

Alexander said that she doesn’t know everything about other jobs in the Communication field and felt it was a great idea to bring a guest speaker with experience.

“I wanted the students to be able to have a wider range of choices for jobs,” Alexander said. “I really think that as an instructor, part of my job is to introduce them to careers that they didn’t know were there.”