On Oct. 11 at 8:24 a.m., 11 Hillsdale College students boarded a train in Jackson, Mich., bound for Chicago, Ill. The students arrived two hours later, ready to begin career services’ “working and living in Chicago” program.
Director of Career Services Joanna Wiseley created the three-day program in order to create opportunities for students to network, job shadow potential employers, and experience life in the city.
“It’s a very eye-opening experience for the students – and productive,” Wiseley said. “Some of them had never even hailed a taxi.”
Each student was matched with a company that suited the student’s career interest, which, for some, could be difficult.
Senior Natalie Foley for example studies physics and music at Hillsdale. She said she is interested in acoustics and architecture, so Wiseley paired Foley with Canon Design Architectural Firm.
Canon designs everything from schools to corporate offices.
Foley worked with an architect who was designing a music hall.
“It gave me an idea of what I’d be doing and who I’d be doing it with,” Foley said. “I enjoyed it a lot. It encouraged me.”
While Foley sat in at Canon, senior Adrianna Yancho went to the John Hancock building to work with Hillsdale graduate Marianne Rotole `95 of Octagon, a sports marketing firm.
As an international business major, Yancho said she had trouble narrowing down a career choice, but after working with Octagon, she knows exactly where she wants to go.
“It gave me more insight into what I want to do,” Yancho said. “I want to do sports marketing for sure.”
To make sure students would be prepared to meet with potential employers, Wiseley arranged a luncheon sponsored by UBS, the banking and financial services group. During the meal, Pam Lowe `80 delivered a presentation entitled “Develop Your Professional Presence and Networking Skills.”
“I think they built confidence for their internship interviews,” Wiseley said.
Later Thursday afternoon, the group took a private bus tour for what Wisely called an “inside guide.”
“It wasn’t a touristy type thing,” Yancho said.
Their guide informed the group of up and coming neighborhoods, price ranges for apartments, and how transportation
“That was beneficial,” Yancho said. “If you were just coming into the city you wouldn’t know where to find an apartment.”
While exploring the neighborhoods, Foley said she found many nice places where she would like to live.
“I really like the atmosphere of the city,” she said.
The final scheduled event of the day was an Alumni-Student Networking Reception at the Paris Club. Wiseley said 53 alumni attended.
Each member of the group was required to give a short sales pitch of himself, also known as a “three-minute elevator speech.”
Some aspects of the pitch included information such as who you are, what your degree is, your strengths, and what you are looking for, Yancho said.
Students spent Friday morning job shadowing. Sponsor companies included Intersport, Celebtv.com, and Bank of America.
Throughout the remainder of the trip, students were allowed time to explore the city, including a river boat tour provided by career services.
After an initial fee of $350, transportation, meals, accommodations, and scheduled activities are paid for.
“It cost career services and alumni,” Wiseley said.
Despite the cost, Wiseley said she is trying to organize more trips.
“We’d like to do more venues,” she said, including smaller cities in the Midwest such as Indianapolis.
From the Dec. 10-12, Wiseley will be leading a similar trip to Washington, D.C.
Wiseley has organized the same trip in past years. She said she hopes to recruit at least 12 students for D.C.
“Any student that’s interested in WHIP should go,” Wiseley said.