Diane reports on Fletcher Career Trips
The School is super quiet today — there are no classes because many students are in Washington, DC on the career trip organized by our Office of Career Services. And one of the DC travelers is student blogger Diane. Last month, Diane joined the annual New York career trip, and she recently sent along this report. I’ve been slow to prompt the student bloggers to write lately, and I’m glad that Diane is kicking off the spring semester for us.
In typical Fletcher fashion, the start of my second semester at Fletcher was extremely busy. After returning from winter break, when I spent three weeks in Montreal practicing my French and training for a Boston winter (it reached minus 27 degrees Celsius in Montreal), I returned to Fletcher early to prepare for the semester ahead. However, before the official start to Spring Semester, there was one more event to attend.
Among the best known aspects of Fletcher are its strong alumni community and the strength of the Office of Career Services (OCS). OCS organizes a number of networking events for its current students throughout the year, and the New York career trip was scheduled for the weekend right before classes began. I went to New York a couple of days early so that I could visit friends and meet up with old colleagues from the UN. I don’t need much of an excuse to go and visit, and I was really excited to be back in town for a few days.
The career trip was a whirlwind. I had booked myself for a full day of events and meetings, starting with two career panels in the morning. These panels were a great opportunity to meet and hear from a number of alumni who work in my area of interest, humanitarian affairs, about the transition from Fletcher to the working world, as well as the different directions their careers have taken.
Next, along with two other students, I had an intimate lunch with a Fletcher graduate who now works at Smile Train. It was a really interesting organization to visit, and the passion of this small non-profit was clearly evident by how much they are achieving with such a small staff.
After lunch, I rushed off to a site visit with One Acre Fund. This was one of my favorite meetings, as this organization is so young and has such a special way of operating. It really made me reevaluate what I hope to do once I graduate from Fletcher, and the type of organization I want to work for.
I then hurried to an event organized by the Fletcher Women’s Network. This was a different experience from the rest of the day, as the alumnae here were less interested in my elevator pitch, and instead wished to inspire our group of young Fletcher women to aim to achieve anything we want, and to try to have it all. It was really nice to see how supportive they were to current students, and it reminded me that this community lasts a lifetime.
The final event of the day was a reception where a few hundred students and alumni gathered to network and catch up over drinks. I was lucky enough to end my day with some close Fletcher friends, having a belated birthday celebration over dinner. Needless to say, I returned home exhausted and exhilarated, eager to start the semester and utilize all the advice I had just been given.