This story appeared in the Spring 2019 Letters & Science magazine.
Sarah Koth came to collegewith a passion for animals and uncertainty about whether she could connect it to a major or a career.
Inspiring courses with Emily Stanley, a freshwater ecologist at the Center for Limnology, and Nazan Gillie in the Department of Integrative Biology led Koth to a zoology major. But she still wasn’t sure how her interests would translate to a career after graduation.
Fortunately, Koth’s roommate gave her some helpful advice: Go to SuccessWorks. And ask for Maureen.
That would be Maureen Muldoon, a career and internship specialist within the College of Letters & Science’s innovative center for personal and professional development. Muldoon focuses on healthcare and human services; the environment, natural resources and wildlife; and scientific research and development, three of the “Career Communities” helping to transform how L&S prepares its students for success after graduation.
Since L&S undergraduates can choose from 63 majors — and gain skills in communication, critical thinking and collaboration that are a boon to any job — it was always a challenge for advisors to be ready for anyone who walked in the door looking for advice on internships and career paths.
“You could see a physics major, then an English major, then an art history major,” says Andrea Lowe, director of career advising and communities. “So you ended up being a generalist, and that only gets students so far.”
SuccessWorks now takes a more intentional approach, with eight distinct career communities that cluster complementary areas of interests together. Each is led by an advisor well-versed in that sector’s unique career opportunities and what it takes to reach them.
“This approach helps us guide them better. We start with their interests.”
Students intrigued by the film industry can check out the communications, arts and entertainment career community. Undergrads fascinated with the startup world might find a fit in the business and entrepreneurship community. Politically-minded students tend to flock to the government, policy, international affairs and law community.
“This approach helps us guide them better,” says Muldoon. “We start with their interests.”
Dipping a toe in a community doesn’t lock a student into a specific career path. On the contrary, SuccessWorks advisors encourage exploring. It’s okay to change your mind, and it’s good to test out ideas early — after all, isn’t it better to find out, through a summer internship, that the legal world isn’t right for you, rather than after three grueling years of law school?
And career communities can foster connections with alumni working in students’ areas of interest, which proved pivotal in Koth’s case.
When Koth followed her roommate’s advice and met with Muldoon, she brought along an internship application for the Shedd Aquarium, a place that had captivated her imagination since she was a child. She thought Muldoon could review her resume and cover letter, but the advisor had other plans in mind.
Sure, Muldoon proofed those materials. But she also asked Koth questions about what she’d learned and the skills she gained as an L&S student, and then showed her how to put those elements forward in her application. And she wondered whether any L&S alumni had ties to the Chicago aquarium.
It turns out, 2015 journalism grad Kelsey Ryan had not only interned at Shedd, but now works there as the manager of conservation communications. SuccessWorks staffers quickly arranged a phone call between the two.
“Having worked here, I was able to offer insights into what our internships are like,” Ryan says. “I knew about the cool things our different teams were doing and what might fit best with her experience.”
Koth says that “insider’s scoop” made all the difference. She landed an internship in the fishes department right after her May 2018 graduation. And she’s now filling in for an aquarist who’s on maternity leave, giving her incredible first steps into her dream career.
“It’s been a fantastic experience,” Koth says. “It’s essentially given me all the skills I need to work at an aquarium in animal care. The aquarium world is very tight-knit, and I’ve made some great connections for what comes next.”
Finding a Fit
SuccessWorks’ eight career communities center on:
• Communications, arts and entertainment
• Environment, natural resources and wildlife
• Government, policy, international affairs and law
• Healthcare and human services
• Business and entrepreneurship
• Nonprofit management and education
• Scientific research and development
• Technology, data and analytics
For more information, visit the SuccessWorks website.
This story appears in the spring 2019 issue of Letters & Science magazine.
Read the full issue here.