Non-profit work was the topic explored on Friday March 18. The Career Specialist for Government and Social Services held a Career Trek event for students interested in non-profit work, one in a series of events held for students to explore possible career paths.
The first Career Trek event was held on Friday, March 18 and was focused on Media and Marketing. Students met with representatives from STAR, a marketing agency with clients ranging from ESPN and Target, to 1517 Media, a collection of four publishing companies.
Gustie alumni also attended the event and spoke about a variety of marketing and publishing professions, including their own.
The next Career Trek event is Thursday, March 21 and is centered around Business and Healthcare. Students will be visiting OptumIQ, a company involved in the integration of intelligence and healthcare.
The event on Friday was held to “give students the opportunity to learn about careers in the non-profit sector and also to learn about organizations in Mankato that may have internship, career, or volunteer opportunities,” Director of Vocation and Career Readiness Programs in Career Development, Cynthia Favre, said.
On Friday, students went to Mankato to Shared Spaces, A Center for Nonprofit Collaboration, to meet with several organizations focused on various nonprofit work.
“I’m interested in social work… most recently I’ve been interested in working in the nonprofit sector,” Junior Katelyn Yee said.
“I had an internship last J-term with YWCA Mankato, and I absolutely loved it. I saw an email for the trek event and I thought I should check it out to see if it would further solidify my interest… And it did–I think this is where I should be,” Yee said.
Junior Dede Pheretha attended the event “to get a better understanding of non-profit groups in the Mankato area and learn more about how I can create my path to working in the nonprofit sector after graduation.”
Students who attended the event received advice from current workers about the nonprofit field.
“The biggest advice that I found to be helpful was to not sell myself short when I am applying for internships and jobs. For example, just because I might not have all the requirements listed for the position doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t make a perfect candidate for the said position,” Pheretha said.
“We met so many amazing, hardworking, and dedicated women who work in Shared Spaces. I think one of the best pieces of advice was that experience doesn’t always have to mean paid experience,” Yee added.
“The off the hill treks are a new initiative for Career Development. It started last spring with a trek to three publishing houses in Mankato,” Favre said.
The Career Development Office is dedicated to creating opportunities for students to investigate possible career opportunities, with events like a “Career Week… this past September… that had a number of panels and presentations and a Career Reception with over 50 organizations attending. In January we had 30 students attend an off the hill event at Ecumen Care Center here in Saint Peter,” Favre said.
Both Senior Lily Winter and Pheretha attended the Private Colleges Job and Internship Fair.
“The fair was informative, and I was able to connect with lots of nonprofits in the Twin Cities ares. The fair was on a larger scale than the career trek… I like the career trek because it was with a smaller group and I felt highly engaged,” Pheretha said.
“It was one of the most helpful events I have ever attended. We participated in mock interviews with a Gustie alumni over the phone about a week before the event. I think Gustavus students were some of the best prepared when attending the career fair because of all the work Career Development had done prepping us,” Winters said.