Dr. Osei Appiah, a communications professor at Ohio State University and race scholar, spoke to the AU Diversity Scholars on March 29.

Dr. Appiah made it more of a discussion than a speech and started off by asking the students about themselves and then telling the students about his background.

He grew up in Long Beach, California and got an athletic scholarship to play basketball at Santa Clara University where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communication.

He was aiming to go pro in his basketball career, but hit a rut during his senior year at Santa Clara. His calculus professor convinced him to apply for graduate school.

“He saw something that I didn’t see in myself,” Dr. Appiah said.

Dr. Appiah ended up getting his master’s degree from Cornell University and then finished up his schooling with his doctorate from Stanford University.

He worked at Apple, Nike, an advertising company, and Temple University before getting his job now at Ohio State.

After telling his background, he opened the floor up for questions and discussion.

“I really would like to be more interactive kind of get some of your questions,” Dr. Appiah said. “We can talk about whatever you like, but I just wanted to give you some background and kind of open it up and be more casual and informal in this discussion.”

He discussed college, jobs, sports, networking, and anything else the students had questions or concerns about.

“It’s really, really important to network,” Dr. Appiah said. “Actually the most important thing I want to leave with you is network.”

Dr. Appiah suggested the students build relationships with as many people as possible because in the long run, it will really help them out.

“Meet peers, university administrators, people who work in industry, go to sessions like this, join professional associations and networks, and go to conferences,” he said. “Meet as many people as you can because those people will ultimately be the ones who help you find a job, write a recommendation letter for you, and who can assist you in meeting the right people.”

He suggested having conversations with people who do what you want to do, not only to learn things about your future career, but also to make more connections.

“Contact those people who are in careers you think you want to do,” Dr. Appiah said. “Reach out to them.”

While he encouraged the students to build relationships and network, he also clarified that they still need to work hard.

“Who you know will allow you to get the job, what you know will allow you to keep the job,” Dr. Appiah said. “So you can get a job by who you know, but you still need to have those skillsets, that intellect and work ethic to keep a job.”