Wednesday, March 20 marks the Ninth Annual Career Summit at Marymount Manhattan College. The Office of Career and Professional Development is hosting this event for Marymount Students interested in furthering their careers, networking with alumni, winning prizes, and eating free food. Attending events such as the Career Summit can be intimidating for college students starting into their prospective fields, so the Monitor talked with a Marymount Student interning for the Office of Career and Professional Development to break down the ins and outs of the day and give our insights into what Career Summit is, why they might want to go, and how to best prepare. 

Angelina Ispir is a transfer student and junior at MMC who is studying Public Relations and Strategic Communications with a minor in International Studies. Ispir is currently interning for the Office of Career and Professional Development and will be participating in the events of March 20 as a student moderator for the Communications and Journalism panel. Ispir shared with the monitor what Career Summit is. 

“It’s a networking day for students to engage with professionals In career fields that they may be interested in pursuing once they graduate,” said Ispir. 

This event occurs annually as a way for employers from a variety of industries, MMC alumni among them, to gather at Marymount and interact with students. The Office of Career and Professional Development scheduled this year’s summit on advisement day to ensure student availability and offered a resume day and access to business professional clothing for students in preparation for the event. Ispir shared that the summit provides a place for students to start building their portfolios, prepare for graduation, and gain motivation for internship applications. 

“Being online on LinkedIn or any media networking outlet can be a bit overwhelming,” said Ispir, “so to have that in-person gathering is really great since you do better communicating with employers in person as opposed to online, where you may have hundreds of applicants. At the career summit, we have a specific set of employers that are coming to Marymount that are focusing on Marymount students which is really important”

The Office of Career and Professional Development reported that around 70 companies will be in attendance, which offers a variety of employers for the diverse range of interests among MMC students. A few companies coming to Career Summit include Hearst, Playbill, Bloomberg, Comcast NBCUniversal, Atlantic Records, New York Stem Cell Foundation, Broadway Dance Center, and many more, all listed under the Career Summit event description on MMC engage. Ispir shared the intent behind the selection of employers in attendance. 

“There’s definitely a lot of Diversity with the set of employers that are going to be at the career summit,” said Ispir, “I think the office of career and professional development has done a really great job at catering to all the career needs for students, so everyone is going to feel seen and heard at the career summit.” 

The agenda for the day runs from 10 AM to 2:30 PM and will be hosted on campus throughout different rooms including the Regina Peruggi Room, Carson Hall 2nd Floor, the Judy, the Commons, and various classrooms. The summit begins with a networking breakfast where students are given the opportunity to connect with peers and employers prior to the rest of the events. Ispir advised students to be well-rested for the day of networking and to establish connections with employers at the start of the day. 

“Connect with employers in advance,” said Ispir, “because then towards the end they’ll make sure to keep note of you.” 

Following breakfast, which ends at 10:30 AM, there will be a welcome and Keynote Speaker, Andrea Nwoke who will give a talk called “Finding Your Voice: Balancing Authenticity and Professional Communication for Career Success.” Ispir shared that this segment is important as it prepares students for the activities throughout the rest of the day. 

The next segment separates the students into their respective industries: Business, Fashion, Finance, Communications and Journalism, Dance, Fine Art, Healthcare and Sciences, Media, Non-Profit, Government, Law, and Theatre and Entertainment. Each industry will hold a separate panel made up of several employer panelists and student moderators. The panels for each industry will occur simultaneously in separate classrooms, whose locations will be given day of. 

“This is a time where you’ll be receiving advice from these employers about finding jobs and internships and overall just helping you find career success,” said Ispir, “so prepare to have questions because you’ll get answers that day.” 

Career Summit will conclude with more free food, raffle winners, and a final moment to connect with employers. The raffle winners will receive either an Owala bottle or a Stanley Cup as their prize (pictured above). Ispir advised students to take advantage of this final moment with employers. 

“It’s super important that you start well and you finish well and not lose the relationships that you’ve been

Building,” said Ispir, “some employers that they are going to be recruiting for jobs and internships during that time so be on your A game because you can come out of it with a job.”