Tag Archives: Alumni

English majors CAN get jobs!

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On Monday night, I had the chance to go to a networking event organized for the English department and the Center for Experience and Opportunity (CEO) called “What can I do with an English Major?” The event featured a panel of six McDaniel alumni who were English majors when they went to school here.

The six panelists represented a variety of career paths. A couple of the panelists are current or recent graduate students who now write for publications. One panelist is a lawyer. Another is the director of digital communications and social media for McDaniel College (which I think is a pretty awesome job!). The last two panelists have started their own businesses. One has an online PR and marketing business while the other sells historical costumes on Etsy.

Listening to all of these panelists speak about their careers and what lead to their careers was insightful. A number of the panelists were able to beat their own paths and find and create careers that were right for them after not initially starting out with careers they loved. (It’s important for everyone to remember that their first job probably isn’t going to be the job they end up staying with and falling in love with.)

The panelists stressed the importance of internships and other work experience. As one panelist put it, college is the time to take on internships, because it’s a lot more difficult to work without pay after graduation, especially if you don’t live with your parents anymore.

After the panel was over, everyone in attendance had the opportunity to network with the panelists. I was surprised that so many of my peers left without really talking to any of the panelists, but it gave me the opportunity to speak with almost all of them. I found that talking to the younger alumni was just as helpful as talking with the alumni whose careers are most established. Everyone gave me great advice and I was able to pick up a couple of contacts that I plan on getting in touch with.

Going to this presentation really got me thinking about careers. While I’ve been thinking that my ultimate goal is to continue on to grad school right after graduation for something, I may end up deciding to delay grad school and enter the workforce. If that’s what I end up doing, I’ll need some experience to get hired. Fortunately, I have an appointment with the director of the CEO this week. This will allow me to speak to someone “in the know” about what classes and “career moves” I should be taking. Hopefully, she’ll also be able to point me in the direction of some summer internship opportunities relevant to my interests and my goals.

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Home Alone In Boston Is Not So Alone After All

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Of course we all look forward to Thanksgiving Break here on the Hill. Though we love our campus and friends dearly, we also love a few days without class and a fantastic home-cooked meal. I chose to spend the break with my friend Barnabas in Boston. I saw it as a chance to meet some new people and explore a new city, but I didn’t think it would changed the way I viewed myself as a McDaniel Student or McDaniel as a whole.

We left at 7pm after classes on Tuesday and arrived at Barney’s house in Boston at 3am Wednesday morning. After sleeping for most of the morning on Wednesday, I awoke to meet both of Barney’s parents and enjoy a delicious breakfast that made Glar pale in comparison.  However, there was a feeling I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I felt like a Cowboys fan in the middle of a pack of Redskins’ fans at the game on Thursday (Go Skins!), and I realized it was because I was not with my family on this holiday for the first time in nineteen years.

Living only an hour away from my home at school, I see my parents plenty. Still, there is something very nerve racking about breaking a tradition you had not realized the importance of; then add the feeling of lost in a big city and you have an early nineties Christmas movie. (Home Alone 2, best Christmas movie ever right?)

Later in the day Barney and I went into the city to see the historic sites which put me in a better mood. My mom is a huge fan of American history as was my grandfather; so if there was any acceptable way to spend Thanksgiving away from my mom, it was to spend it looking at important pieces of history like the burial grounds of John Hancock, John Adams, and Paul Revere. Touring, what locals call, the “North End,” which to this day embodies the image of colonial Boston complete with crooked streets, alleyways that you have to turn sideways to walk through, and the Boston Harbor  all these sites representing the precursors of the ensuing fight that would allow our nation its freedom.

All this time I had been wearing my McDaniel College hoodie to proudly represent where I come from just as Boston boasts a proud history of brave men. And it was just as we were outside of Paul Revere’s house on North Street that I was stopped by a guy shouting “Hey! Do you go to McDaniel College in Westminster?” Of course I said yes,and the guy proceeded to tell me that he was an alumnus of the school. He had attended McDaniel back in the eighties. He described in detail how Red Square used to be a parking lot, and what it was like to have Gill Gym only be composed of the single gym brick building we refer to as old Gill these days. He told me his time at McDaniel was the best of his life and that he wouldn’t trade it even for a free tour of Paul Revere’s house (okay so I made that up, but good lord the house looked so cool and tours were so expensive).

It was so cool to encounter randomly someone who had attended and graduated from McDaniel, a student body of about 1700 students, in such a large city with over 600,000 people. I didn’t feel so homesick after that because I realized that home is all around. At McDaniel, a huge part of your education is to make you a citizen of the world. I’ve never been out of the country, but I can definitely say that I feel as though I am quickly becoming a part of a great community of alumni and students in this country and that when I wear my McDaniel hoodie I am home as far as I’m concerned.

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Homecoming on the Hill

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On Saturday I started my morning by sitting at the front desk in the Admissions office talking to perspective students. I later ended my day hanging out in the green room of the theatre with my new friends that are McDaniel Alumni. One of the reasons I love Homecoming is because not only do you get to spend the day tailgating and cheering on the football team with your friends, but you also get to catch up with friends that have already graduated and meet even more new friends. When we say to prospective students that McDaniel really has a sense of community and family, we aren’t just saying that to get more people to come here. It is true. The connections I’ve made with people who are older than me connected right away over McDaniel traditions and stories that are passed down through the years. It is always fun to sit around and hear stories about past McDaniel experiences.
I truly believe that Homecoming gets better every year. It is only natural to make friends with people who are older than you and as sad as it is to realize that they won’t be there every day once they graduate, it’s awesome to know that they will be back on the Hill for Homecoming. I know personally, as a Junior, I made friends with people who were Seniors when I was a Freshman so I know a lot of alumni that I only get to see once a year. I love catching up with them and getting to know how the “real world” is treating them. It is going to be very strange for me next year if I can’t get off work to come back for it. Even though I’ll be working in Florida, I am going to try my best to make it back for Homecoming. My best friend is a Senior this year so I would be sure to see her here.
Notice I haven’t talked much about the actual football game. While we were ahead for a lot of it, we lost in the last few seconds. It was a sad defeat but because of our awesome tailgating skills, we made the most of it. One of my favorite parts about Homecoming is just walking around the bowl stadium and stopping at the different organization’s tents. Each Greek organization always has a tent and a bunch of other clubs set up camp as well. One of the best parts of McDaniel, in my opinion, is even though we have some groups that are selective, there are very few events that are strictly for members only. For the most part, we all work and play as one school and are a very inclusive group. I am always proud to say that I am a student at McDaniel College because not only am I getting a wonderful education in the classroom, but I am also making connections with my peers and professors that will last a lifetime.

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