By ANNA SODERBERG
STAFF WRITER
Over the past mid-semester break Career Services hosted a LINC (Laurentians Investing in Networking and Careers) trip that took place in New York City. 22 St. Lawrence students attended and took part in the informative and beneficial experience. The trip consisted of meeting and interacting with SLU alumni, as well as touring multiple large corporations and networking at the final closing reception. Ronald Albertson, the director of Career Services, explained the program through a series of goals: the opportunity to expose students to internship and career opportunities in areas of interest, build alumni connections, experience the value of the SLU alumni and parent network, and to generate connections between current students and alumni through structured networking events. All of these are essential elements of learning life skills after a student’s four years at SLU.
The students that attended the program had the privilege of visiting three large corporations based in NYC. The first was Credit Suisse, which is a financial services company that advises clients in all aspects of finance across the globe. The group of SLU students were hosted by a St. Lawrence parent, Paul Whyte. That same day, the group of students traveled to Hearst Corporation, which is one of the nation’s largest diversified media, information, and services companies; it oversees more than 360 businesses. At Hearst, Sue Katzen ‘86 greeted the SLU students.
On Thursday, students were given the optional opportunity to meet with three different groups of SLU alums focused in Law, Environmental Studies, and Trading Foreign Exchange. On the final day of the program, students visited Viacom headquarters, which is a media conglomerate that works specifically in cinema and cable television. These visits were beneficial for major specific students curious to see examples of past St. Lawrence students who have created careers from their liberal arts educations at SLU.
Two students who traveled with the LINC program to NYC, Claire Skogsberg ’19 and Ryan Palazzetti ’19, gave their perspectives on their individual experiences with networking and hearing from alumni. They touched on how eye-opening it was to learn proper interviewing skills as well as how to leave a good impression before and after networking with an adult. Palazzetti explained how beneficial it was to attend the Trading Foreign Exchange meeting at Goldman Sachs, which gave him the an opportunity to speak one-on-one with an experienced broker. Skogsberg said, “The trip gave me a better clarity of how to get where I’d like to go after graduation and helped me gain a better understanding of jobs that fit towards my interests.” Palazzetti agreed, adding, “It was so great to meet successful St. Lawrence alumni that are tremendously passionate about what they do.”
Overall, the Career Services LINC networking trip was once again a successful and beneficial trip for those in attendance. Skogsberg and Palazzetti recommend the program to anyone who is looking towards the future and plans to utilize the strong bond SLU alumni have across the globe.