{"id":4,"date":"2013-05-04T22:10:27","date_gmt":"2013-05-04T22:10:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring2013\/?page_id=4"},"modified":"2013-12-04T22:22:24","modified_gmt":"2013-12-04T22:22:24","slug":"trinity-days-treks","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring2013\/features\/trinity-days-treks\/","title":{"rendered":"Trinity Days Treks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students network with Trinity alumni<\/strong>
\nby Mary Howard<\/em><\/p>\n

\"train<\/a>

Trinity students await their train to Washington, D.C.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cEnlightening,\u201d \u201cinformative,\u201d \u201cinspiring,\u201d and \u201cproductive.\u201d That\u2019s what Trinity students are saying about Trinity Days Treks, a career development opportunity that enables students to network with alumni and employers across a range of professions.<\/p>\n

Since last fall, 59 students have participated in treks to three major cities\u2014New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the Career Development Center, the program offers students an opportunity to engage in high-level career exploration in a supportive environment, says J. Violet Gannon, the College\u2019s director of career development. \u201cStudents can vet the \u2018goodness of fit\u2019 between their skills and passions and the reality on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"students\"<\/a>

Alexis Maguina \u201913, Travis Kotecco \u201914, and Grace Montesi \u201913<\/p><\/div>\n

Alumni-student interactions play a key role in the treks. \u201cIt takes a village to do career development well,\u201d says Gannon, \u201cWe rely upon the social capital of our talented, diverse, and committed alumni and parents to make the treks a success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Margaret-Anne Logan \u201913, an art history major, attended the D.C. trek because she knew she wanted to work in the capital city but wasn\u2019t sure how to make inroads. \u201cI was looking for jobs but felt very lost,\u201d she says. The trip exceeded her expectations. \u201cI left there with a much better idea of what to expect and what to look for as I continued my job search.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also left D.C. with a number of alumni contacts, including Eleanor Kerr \u201981, director of
\ngovernment affairs at Siemens. In fact, Kerr helped Logan secure an internship with American Consulting Group (ACG), a government affairs consulting firm. Logan will spend her summer monitoring Congressional hearings and conducting research. \u201cIt will be a great way for me to expand my understanding of policy and government affairs and also meet people in D.C.,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Preston Haxo \u201914 participated in the fall trek to New York that focused on finance, marketing,
\nand advertising. He was \u201cextremely impressed\u201d by the number of alumni who shared their knowledge and insight. An economics major considering a future in finance, Haxo attended a panel discussion at Credit Suisse, where alumni who work at the bank shared their career
\nexperiences. \u201cBeing able to relate on a personal level with alumni made the day a great success,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"Trinity<\/a>

Trinity Days Treks participants<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThese are really busy people, who are putting themselves out there for our students,\u201d says Kathy Eckels, career specialist, who accompanied students on the winter trek to Washington, D.C. The alumni participants were impressed by the current students. Steve Norton \u201985, one of the organizers of the D.C. trip, commented that the students boosted his faith in the future. \u201cDiverse in race, gender, nationality, and socioeconomic background, they were uniformly bright, resourceful, polite, and appreciative.\u201d Gannon has plans for at least two treks a year with hopes to expand to cities in the Midwest and the West Coast. To reach a diverse student base, the treks are Trinity funded. Gannon notes, \u201cWe don\u2019t want finances to prohibit an interested student from participating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students wishing to attend a trek must complete a brief application. Once accepted, they must participate in coaching sessions designed to hone networking and presentation skills, says Gannon.<\/p>\n

Eckels was amazed at the transformation of the group that attended the D.C. trek. \u201cThe students got off the train in their sweats and backpacks, and a few hours later, they walked into [Steptoe & Johnson, an international law firm] looking like junior partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Enjoying<\/a>

Enjoying dinner at the end of the trip<\/p><\/div>\n

These kinds of experiences represent best practices in the career development field, says Gannon. \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to talk about how to interact with alumni at a business dinner, and it is an entirely different thing to be at that dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students network with Trinity alumni by Mary Howard \u201cEnlightening,\u201d \u201cinformative,\u201d \u201cinspiring,\u201d and \u201cproductive.\u201d That\u2019s what Trinity students are saying about Trinity Days Treks, a career development opportunity that enables students to network with alumni and employers across a range of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"parent":36,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":203,"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4\/revisions\/203"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/36"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring2013\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}