Though it’s several months until Cornell students will head off to summer internships or real-life careers, many took advantage of winter break to jump start the process through events offers by Arts & Sciences Career Development.
More than 150 students attended five networking sessions in various fields, a Wall Street Prep program and the Liberal Arts Undergrad Network for Careers & Hiring (LAUNCH) virtual interview days, said Jen Maclaughlin, director of A&S Career Development.
“Arts & Sciences Career Development is committed to helping students prepare for their future, be it through exploring careers through alumni panels and networking, gaining technical skills for finance recruiting or interviewing for internships and jobs,“ Maclaughlin said.
Andy Alkin ’28 said the three networking events he attended helped him gain a clearer picture of what the day-to-day life would be for various positions. He attended the networking events focused on finance, law and media/entertainment/marketing. The other events centered on healthcare and the government/non-profit sector.
“It was interesting for me to learn about the different types of skills alumni use in their jobs,” Alkin said. “I enjoy analytical work but I’m also an extrovert, so I want to make sure there are collaborative components to my job. It was great to hear about their work environments.”
Alkin, an economics major, said speakers at each event also detailed the Cornell experiences that helped shape their journey – information he’s finding useful as he fills out his course schedule and considers what clubs or organizations to join.
After the panel discussion, each networking event included breakout rooms so students could meet in small groups with alumni panelists. “Those groups were usually one on one or two on one, so I was able to connect with people, and I also reached out to some alums afterward on LinkedIn and everyone got back to me,” Alkin said.
Raina Lockwood ’27, also attended the media event and was excited to see the wide range of fields where alumni have landed positions. “I appreciated my small group session with Airié Stuart because she had valuable insight about the publishing industry and what kinds of skills are most important for an aspiring editor,” Lockwood said.
An English major, Lockwood writes for the Cornell Daily Sun and is interested in careers in journalism or publishing.
“Hearing the stories of professionals across facets of the media field helps build my awareness of possibilities for my own career,” she said, adding that visits to the Career Development office in Goldwin Smith Hall have also been useful.
“Last semester I had several one-on-one meetings with Jen Maclaughlin, and she has been very helpful in my internship search—I have really appreciated her work finding a wide variety internships for me based on my interests,” she said.
Mia Barratt ’26 landed six interviews as part of the LAUNCH program, many for legal and consulting positions.
“I’ve met with career advisors and attended a ton of events,” Barratt said of her Cornell experience, which also included a semester in the Cornell in Washington Program, where she interned with the Postal Office of the Inspector General and the U.S. Senate.
“All of these things have allowed me to narrow my interests – to tech policy, good governance and law,” she said.
To prepare for her interviews, Barratt researched each firm, explored the Cornell alumni network and even reached out to a Cornell alum at one firm before her interview day.
At Cornell she’s involved with several clubs including Cornell Speech and Debate, which “has improved my public speaking skills and my ability to connect with people.”
A&S Career Development offers a similar set of experiences during summer break. Find out more on their website.
