The Career Development Center (CDC) launched a new program this semester, the Industry Insight Series, to help students get started in careers that can be hard to break into.
This semester’s program invited people working in three industries, music entertainment, entrepreneurship and counseling, to talk about how they got started in their fields.
“We wanted to create something that would benefit students,” said Trisha Gregory, marketing and social media specialist for the CDC. “We tried to do a variety of topics that there was a need for.”
The idea for the program originated from students who told the CDC staff they were not seeing events for the industries they wanted to go into, said CDC Director Trish Shafer.
“The inspiration for this program really bubbled up from what we were hearing from students in appointments,” Shafer said.
These industries are also areas where St. Joe’s lacks a strong alumni network, Shafer said, or may not be represented at a career fair. Most of the speakers for the program’s sessions were friends of those who work in the CDC.
For example, Johnathan Feldman, a VP of brand partnership and sports marketing at Atlantic Records, who spoke during the Feb. 20 music entertainment presentation, was a childhood friend of Scott Rappaport, associate director of the CDC.
“It’s all about networking,” Shafer said. “If it does not exist in large numbers the way it does for food marketing and [risk management insurance], then how are students ever going to gain access to that? We are really just trying to educate and inspire students to pursue their dream despite it not being in the ethos here.”
The three industries highlighted in this semester’s series are traditionally hard to get into for various reasons, according to Shafer.
“Part of getting in that industry [music entertainment] is hustling and showing you have the chops to handle it,” Shafer said.
Shafer said the same can be said for entrepreneurs trying to get a business off the ground or would-be counselors who are not aware of all the different areas they can specialize in.
Ricky Bauer ’20 has owned his own small boat cleaning business for two years, but said he found the Feb. 27 entrepreneurship panel to be, “very helpful and useful.”
“It was a wonderful way to connect with different entrepreneurs, grow as a person, understand if I am passionate about this, and how to achieve my goals,” Bauer said.
Jill Marple McCabe, the owner of a clothing brand called Truth BE Worn, spoke on the entrepreneurship panel and encouraged students to take advantage of similar presentations in the future. She said she wished she could have attended such a session while a student at Temple University.
“I want students to take away that if you have an idea, act on it,” McCabe said. “Don’t wait until things are perfect to start putting your idea in motion. Be fearless with reaching out to people to find resources.”
The final of the three presentations focuses on counseling and will take place March 11 at 11 a.m. in the Campion Student Center.
