In the Spotlight - Gopal Goyal: Being a TAPPI Volunteer Pays Off
![](http://www.naylornetwork.com/PPI-OTW/assets/gopal.jpg)
Gopal Goyal often notes that it is the connections he made through membership in TAPPI that really helped launch his career. "I kept telling people that I have gotten more out of TAPPI than TAPPI has gotten out of me." Having joined back in 1985 while a graduate student in pursuit of an advanced degree in the pulp and paper field, Gopal attended his first TAPPI pulping conference and was deeply impressed with the depth and breadth of knowledge he found under a single roof.
"You could approach any of these experts and have a technical discussion, which helped me tremendously in focusing my graduate research," he said. That initial meeting led to nearly 30 years of active involvement, including an array of voluntary leadership positions. Since those early days, he has consistently found TAPPI to be a great venue for making connections with leading industry experts and establishing a global network of contacts. He also notes that the active volunteer role he pursues at TAPPI to this day helped him to develop and apply leadership and teambuilding skills at his job.
Find out more by reading this month's Member Spotlight.
Spotlight participants are recommended by fellow members and staff. If you wuld like to nominate a member just send their name (or names) to MemberSpotlight@tappi.org. We will forward a Spotlight Questionnaire to fill out and return.
We look forward to seeing you in the Spotlight!
TAPPI
http://www.tappi.org/