Reflections from Career Week 2020
by Eleni Krupinski ‘21
Beginning in 1999, the Boston College Arts Council has been hosting an annual Career Night event where students from across all majors are invited to network with BC alumni who are pursuing careers in the Arts and Entertainment industries as actors, art administrators, designers, journalists, producers (TV/radio), reporters, visual artists, writers, and more. This year, the Arts Council partnered with the Boston College Career Center and the McMullen Museum of Art, to transform the event into a five-day series of virtual panels: Career Week in the Arts + Entertainment.
I had the pleasure of attending most of the Career Week panels and listening to the stories, advice, and expertise of several BC alumni as they shared their experiences from college to life beyond the school years. As a current senior, thinking about my path after graduation, I related to many of the points discussed and was able to find some consolation in hearing how alumni whose careers I look up to, were dealing with some of the same questions, uncertainties, and anxieties that I am facing now.
One of the topics that I related with most throughout all the panels was the concern of feeling lost, of being unsure about where your passions lie and what path to pursue after graduation. Many alumni admitted having dealt with these issues as they began to forge their careers. Marc Franklin ‘12 used the idea of “stumbling productively” to describe the process by which he created his own career roadmap. “I was doing all of these things to help keep growing,” he explained, “making more contacts in that process, and then also refining kind of what it is that I want to do.” Listening to stories like Marc’s helped me realize that It is okay to stumble, to be confused, and to jump around, as long as you continue trying new things and carrying over the knowledge you gain through one experience into the next. You don’t need to have everything figured out from the beginning but you have to be willing to experiment and learn at every opportunity.
Another point that resonated with me was that the classes that we take in school are not the only source of knowledge available to us. I knew this before, but listening to the alumni brought the importance of extracurricular activities into sharp focus. Many of the panelists explained how some of their most valuable skills came from leadership positions in student clubs, stage managing positions in theater productions, or from writing for The Heights. They emphasized that expanding your skills, building your resume, and creating a portfolio of your work can take on different forms and is not limited to classes and internships; it can include student organizations, self-directed projects or even restaurant work experience. Each of these provides a useful skillset and can help broaden your capabilities.
Finally, the most reassuring piece of advice that I left with from Career Week is that there will always be people to help guide you along the way (especially BC alumni). Almost every panelist touched on the topic of mentorship and networking, underscoring that the most important aspect in making a connection with someone is authenticity. As students, many of us try to put forward a more professional persona, the person we think employers or mentors expect to see when networking. Listening to the panelists, however, made me realize that being authentic, vulnerable, and honest can go a long way and be much more beneficial. This authenticity will come much more naturally once your goal becomes to learn from whoever you are speaking to rather than to promote yourself to them. Tim Lemire ‘89 touched on the importance of asking questions (even if it means admitting that you lack certain knowledge) in order to form those meaningful connections and mentorship opportunities. “I remember when I was in my 20s and just starting out in the job field, I was very anxious about letting people know that I didn’t know anything” he laughed, “I had to sort of get over that hump to say, um, can I ask you a question? … That sort of opens you up to the possibility that you’ll encounter someone who will mentor you.”
As I reflect on all the conversations that I got to listen to during Career Week, I think the most important takeaway to remember is that college is primarily a time to explore and learn about yourself. Hearing from alumni who were once in our shoes helped me feel a lot less nervous about what the future might hold, and encouraged me to appreciate the present moment, rather than constantly worrying about what comes next.