Connections, Firsthand Experiences Help Dickinson College Students Define Career Paths
Students took a daylong trip to Malvern, Pa., to visit the headquarters of Vanguard, a major financial firm that employs several Dickinson alumni and hosts Dickinson internships.
Events bring students inside global organizations where Dickinsonians work
by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
Nina Spoelker ’21 (mathematics) hadn’t considered a finance career, but when presented with the opportunity to visit Vanguard’s Philadelphia-area office, she decided to check it out. For Sam Marmo ’19 (law & policy), the chance to get career advice from NYC alumni working at the National Committee on American Foreign Policy and the U.S. Court of International Trade was too good to pass up, while Alejandro Arango '21 (economics), who knows he wants to study law, looked forward to learning about different specialties within that field.
All three students took advantage of career-information field trips to major U.S. cities, one of the many special events and services offered to students at every stage of their educational careers—and to alumni, throughout their lives—through Dickinson’s new Center for Advising, Internships & Lifelong Career Development. In addition to academic advising, internships, externships, workshops, group Skype information sessions and one-on-one career planning and resume/interview prep sessions, Career Explorations trips help students gain firsthand knowledge about the day-to-day workings and job opportunities at major organizations, all while connecting with alumni and others who work there.
Philly, D.C. and NYC bound
Students interested in finance traveled to the Philadelphia area Oct. 10 for a daylong informational session at Vanguard Group's headquarters, which has hosted several Dickinson interns. There, they met Dickinsonians who've launched successful finance careers and learned about what they can do to prepare for success in that field. Students interested in the data and technology sectors have a chance to visit the D.C. area on Oct. 29 to learn a bit about the cutting-edge projects at Enterprise Knowledge, where they met with Zach Wahl '98 and several alumni employees, and at pureIntegration, where Nick Hunter '98 offered an overview of his company and field.
Students met with alumni working in tech fields during a trip to Enterprise Knowledge and pureIntegration, in Washington, D.C.
Those who took the Oct. 22 trip to New York City could select from a broad spectrum of fields they'd like to explore. Each one could take part in up to two site visits, as well as an end-of-day networking reception.
Students meet with Brian Jankovsky ’99 and his colleagues at Google's NYC office.
Brian Jankovsky ’99 and two colleagues at Google’s NYC office offered students a tour of the facility and spoke about different career paths at the powerhouse technology organization. They also offered tips on how to transition from college to the professional world.
Students interested in foreign policy, cybersecurity and international relations learned about think tank and policy careers, courtesy of Stephen Whittaker ’13, at the National Committee on American Foreign Policy’s offices, while those visiting the U.S. Court of International Trade met Mark Barnett ’85, who discussed government and private practice careers in international trade law. Barnett also introduced students to a colleague, Mario Toscano, who described positions in the clerk’s office, including jobs available to new graduates who are not attending law school.
Mark Barnett ’85 discussed careers in international trade law, while his colleague, Mario Toscano, discussed positions in the clerk’s office.
At Sotheby’s NYC offices, students interested in the arts attended a panel discussion with Isabel Richards ’16, Caitlin Barrett ’10, Paris Humphrey ’16, Sarah Goslin ’15, Benjamin Hanbury-Aggs ’11 and Emily Kodama ’05, who work in different departments at the flagship auction house. Richards then took students behind the scenes so they could watch professional research in action and see how old-master paintings are prepared for sale.
At KPMG's U.S. office, students learned about career opportunities at one of the top-four professional-services companies in the world.
Students interested in media and publishing met with Katie Henwood '15 at Conde Nast Digital and with Christine Travaglini P’21 of Katz Media Group, while two recruiters and one auditor at KPMG offered a window into one of the world's top-four professional-services organizations.
Michele Metcalf ’16, Dave Lyness ’16 and Claire Mammen '12 organized two career-info panel discussions at Transperfect Translation, a global foreign-language translation service, and connected students with human resources executives and recruiters, while Diamond McClintock ’14 welcomed fellow Dickinsonians to the Warner Music Group, where she and her colleagues discussed a variety of music industry careers.
Katie Henwood '15, associate manager, SEO, hosted students at Conde Nast Digital.
The day concluded with a networking reception, during which students and NYC alumni connected with fellow Dickinsonians working in a wide range of careers. Spoelker, who visited Vanguard, was pleasantly surprised to learn about the breadth of finance career opportunities available to students with solid math skills and affirmed that this information is helping her narrow down her targeted career paths.
Arango, who's considering different areas of the law, added that events like these also can help students gain a deeper understanding of different networking techniques. "The first time I attended a Career Connections event in D.C., I met people who I still keep in contact with," he said. "This time around, I learned a lot more about how networking is just as much about asking questions and learning about something you’re curious about as it is about making friends with interesting people."
Marmo noted that interacting with an alumnus at the National Committee on American Foreign Policy not only provided her with important career information but also served up a welcome jolt of inspiration and pride.
“I think events like this are extremely important,” she explained. “It's reassuring and exciting to see our alumni succeed and for them to take their time to offer their insight and guidance."
These Career Connection events are just some of the many ways Dickinson prepares students for success through its Center for Advising, Internships & Lifelong Career Development. On Saturday, Oct. 27, for instance, the center hosted its annual on-campus Career Conference. The daylong event brought together alumni and students for mock interviews, industry-specific panel discussions, networking and more.
Khanh-Ngoc "Karina" Duong '21, who is in the beginning stages of career exploration, gave this suite of services a thumbs-up. "I would definitely recommend it to everyone," she said. "This is a chance for Dickinson students to get out of their comfort zones, get to know about the industries and receive extremely helpful advice."
TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
Published October 28, 2018