Photo by Sergio Sericolo

The Siena College Spring Career, Internship and Graduate Fair was held on March 15^th, 2016 in the MAC. I, fortunately, had the opportunity to attend this years’ fair for the first time in my college career. With over 120 organizations attending, I knew some preparation had to take place to aid me in standing out among the crowd. The first extra precaution I took to train for this event came a week prior through the services at Career Center. The Siena College Career Center took it into their own hands to create and host a night for mock interviews and résumé critiques. Upon attending this event, I dressed appropriately and brought several copies of my résumé, as there were representatives from seven different organizations present to provide advice. This event proved extremely beneficial, as it was very helpful to sit with an individual whose job it is to look at résumés. Leaving this event, I felt confident enough to hand my resume to any professional at the career fair. Not to mention the importance of the connections made with those individuals at the critique night that would later be present at the fair.

With the résumé refined, it was time to learn a little bit about internships and careers. The Student Internship Panel allowed for just that. This panel brought together six students from various disciplines to describe their different experiences and journeys. Their advice and knowledge was extremely valuable and their ability to completely answer audience questions made for a full/well-rounded panel. Being a Marketing major myself with an English minor, this panel shed some light on some opportunities and transferrable skills I was previously not aware of. This panel ultimately gave me more confidence in my academic focuses and taught me how to better market myself within both Business and Liberal Arts realms.

The night before the fair had come and I made it my mission to study a few companies in order to have something to converse about, as one of my largest fears was a daunting silence between a potential employer and me. After I felt knowledgeable about companies of my interest, I set out to have a good nights rest. The day of the fair had arrived and I could not help to feel a little nervous. After putting on my best professional wear and studying my qualifications, the time had come to make some connections. The first introduction is always the hardest and as I approached mine, I wasn’t exactly sure what I’d say. However, my education in liberal arts gave me the communication skills to hold a natural conversation while my business skills boosted my professionalism. This combination gave me the tools and confidence to approach any booth and communicate with ease to anyone. Similarly, when these representatives asked about my academic background, it was not exactly my marketing focus that caught their attention but, instead, my liberal arts one that sparked their interest. With business knowledge but also the appropriate knowhow in communication, learning, and writing, these individuals could not wait to take a glance at my résumé. This is also, I’m assuming, one of the reasons a lot of these companies were also prompted to email me following the event. The transferrable skills I have acquired through my education at Siena College have adapted me into quite the asset for a company.

In all, the networking experience of such an event gave me the tools necessary to be confident in my own abilities/skills and helped me to make some great connections. If nothing comes of any of this, I will still be forever grateful to have the opportunity to participate in such a grand networking event. Walking up to a complete stranger and sparking up a riveting conversation was never something I’d call a strength of mine but this event surely turned that around. This career fair was helpful beyond anything I had imagined and simulated a very professional environment that I recognize will help me in the near future. For any of those thinking about attending a future career fair, I would definitely recommend taking all the precautionary measures possible to succeed at the highest level.

If the Student Internship Panel happened to slip through your fingers this semester, it would be highly beneficial to catch the next one. This first exciting installment of the School of Liberal Arts Spring “Trilogy of Opportunity” was conducted on Wednesday, March 9^th.  The Career Center, School of Liberal Arts, and Community Living graciously constructed this event for students to learn more about having internships throughout college. This panel, gathered in the Norm, gave six students the opportunity to discuss their experiences as interns at a number of very different organizations/companies. The internship diversity within these students was very notable and greatly appreciated. These differences in academic disciplines gave all those in attendance some type of relevance and familiarity to the point where everyone in attendance left with some more extensive knowledge of their field or focus.

The intern and academic focuses covered among these six individuals included Psychology, Computer Science, Management, Economics, and Political Science. As each field is drastically different from the next, each internship experience was also drastically different. So, as the mediators fired questions at these six students, each answer had something very specific and interesting to their situation that others could not exactly speak to. They all had an opportunity to talk about their knowledge and experiences within their personal internship placements and the inner workings of the processes they went through. The combination of answers these six students provided to each question delivered a well-rounded and diverse response, which in return more adequately prepared the audience for any situation they may find themselves in.

These respectable, successful student panelist’s included Nick Roden, Mary Kate Thompson, Augustin J. (AJ) Lianzo, Anthony Bjelke, Koushik Pernati, and Dina DiCarlo. While each of these students worked at an entry-level position (with the exception of a couple), their experiences were all subject to the corporate cultures and responsibilities thrust upon them. However, each panelist’s advice is just as esteemed as the next irrespective of his or her placement. Advice was shared on a number of subjects that an individual applying to internships would be dying to know. This included guidelines on how to effectively secure an internship position, the interview process, networking, and everything down to the proper work attire. They also comprehensively communicated the importance of LinkedIn and using the resources available at the school to make connections and get information.

As a college student, it is easy to get in the mindset that real life has not started yet, but after attending this student internship panel, just the opposite is proven. Hearing about these experiences and opportunities secures the notion that the future is, in fact, now and there are those who are already ahead of the curve. On this internship panel were six incredible students that have already started to pave a path to their future and took full advantages of the opportunities presented to them now rather than hoping for the best after graduation.

The school has made it a habit of inviting exciting guest speakers back to the campus to hear about their experiences and understand their paths from Siena College onwards. However, most individuals do not realize there is another purpose for these events beyond sheer entertainment and life lessons. Networking is one of the most vital teachings that any institution can instill in their students. Each professional invited to speak at the college is an already established, practiced person who has found success in their particular field. Therefore, there is no better time to engage in connection building than at one of these guest-speaking events. Finding a way to get some face-time with these speakers can pay off in an enormous fashion as well as potentially lead to otherwise unlikely internship or job opportunities. Students are often under the impression that their future is waiting for them as soon as they graduate, but it is very possible to start a future tomorrow by simply connecting with the right people. All of this can start right here on campus and, in fact, has started on numerous occasions for students over the past decades years of networking at the college.

Don’t believe it? Last semester Tom Mazzarelli, the Co-Executive Producer of the Today Show graced the Siena community with his presence. Invited here for the Siena College School of Liberal Arts Lecture Series, Tom spoke about his career after schooling and how his education aided his career path on a greater scale. After an inspiring, impressive and very entertaining presentation, it became very clear how this individual found his success. One student, Emily Carideo, recognized just that and took it into her own hands to seek out the connection. Fortunately, Emily had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Mazzarelli afterwards at a luncheon wherein she was able to keep an open dialogue and learn a little more about Tom.

Emily is grateful for these types of events and explains that, “as a Broadcast and Society minor, this event was something I truly valued, as I was able to hear from someone who not only went to Siena like myself, but was able to land what I consider my dream job.” Emily continued to stay in touch with Tom and the Today show to create a working and strong relationship. Finally, her networking and connection paid off as she was offered an internship at the studio. Emily proudly admits “if it were not for this Key Speaker event, it is possible I would never have been able to make a personal connection with someone at the Today show.” Emily now has the opportunity to thrust her career in broadcast beyond anything she could have imagined at this age.

Students often to tend to think that a story like this is anecdotal or rare but this is an interaction that actually has occurred for decades here on campus. All it takes is the students’ participation and willingness to take control of their future. Opportunities like this do not come around everyday but Siena College is doing what they can to make them more frequent and accessible. This semester, the School of Liberal Arts Lecture Series is proud to feature Michael Zarcone, the Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Metlife. This event is set to take place on Monday, March 14^th in the Key Auditorium (RB 202) from 12:30-1:30. Try to stop by and participate in some networking because, who knows, it could be the start of something life-changing.