Hobart and William Smith Colleges

19 December 2024 NYC, Boston and D.C. Career Treks By Annabel Ramsay '25

This winter break, students will participate in four career treks, gaining insights into careers in communications and marketing, business management, finance, media, politics and public policy.

The Salisbury Center for Career, Professional, and Experiential Education offers yearly career trek programs during winter break, allowing students to travel to major U.S. cities to explore potential career paths. This year’s career exploration journeys will take place in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Boston, as well as a virtual component.

“Through these programs, students are connected to Hobart and William Smith alumni and other community members within their desired career field. Career Trek experiences develop crucial networking skills, strengthen bonds with alumni, and build confidence in navigating interviews,” says Executive Director of the Salisbury Center for Career, Professional, and Experiential Education Brandi Ferrara.

This winter’s lineup includes:

The NYC Finance Experience allows students to meet with alumni, parents and friends of HWS as they tour the nation’s leading financial institutions. From Jan. 6-8, students will visit Barclays, Bank of America, UBS, Citigroup, Bloomberg, JP Morgan, Evercore, Mastercard, S&P Global and Aon. Students will be joined by Professor of Economics Feisal Khan and Senior Associate Director of the Salisbury Center for Career, Professional, and Experiential Education Shayne Feinberg P’17, P’20. 

Day on the Hill: A Politics and Policy Career Trek in Washington, D.C. will take students inside the Rayburn House Office Building, Environmental Protection Agency, Peace Corps Headquarters, Ocean Conservancy, Deloitte, Atlantic Council and more for three days of experiential insight into politics, government, service and policy. Students will learn and network with alumni and professionals with a wide range of roles. The students will be joined by Ferrara and Assistant Director of the Salisbury Center for Career, Professional, and Experiential Education Julia Walsh Postler.

The Boston Businesses with a Purpose program gives students the opportunity to connect with business management and startup alumni and professionals. In Boston from Jan. 9-10, the experience will include visits to EF, Datadog, MediaHub, Suffolk and Fidelity. Students will be joined by Associate Professor of Business Management and Entrepreneurship Craig Talmage and Feinberg. 

In addition, a virtual Behind the Scenes Experience will take place Jan. 6-10, offering students an opportunity to explore diverse media careers in film, television, journalism, marketing, advertising and public relations through online meetings with alumni working in these fields. Students enrolled in the J-term course "Media Professions," taught by Associate Professor of Media and Society Lisa Patti, are participating. The course delves into the dynamics of media labor in film, television and other industries, combining conversations with alumni working in media professions with the exploration of first-person accounts of work in different media and communications fields, from memoirs to interviews.

Pictured above, During Day on the Hill: A Politics and Policy Career Trek, students gather with Associate Professor of Politics DeWayne Lucas in front of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.