The career fair that was hosted on Friday was better than I anticipated. Everyone who attended was friendly, engaging, and passionate about either their present career or their future endeavors. The panel of writers and guests who spoke at the event were so knowledgeable about their respective fields. They were more than happy to speak with anyone who had an interest in either the company they worked for, the type of writing they did for a living, etc. After speaking with the assistant editor of the Baltimore Magazine, I’m considering applying for an internship with a magazine as a possible career route.
One of the best segments of the fair was when Professor Smith asked the members of the panel to give all of the students some words of wisdom. They mentioned the standard “believe in yourself” and “don’t lose hope”. A very popular piece of advice was to complete an internship, which Megan Bosse (communications associate at the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts) took a step further. She mentioned how we could learn different qualities about ourselves through various internships. But, they had some more practical advice as well. They suggested that we should strive to “be as versatile as possible”. We should try to pick up extra skills besides writing in order to be as helpful and marketable as we can be, which does make a lot of sense.
But, probably the most comforting thing I was personally able to take away from the fair is how a person’s career doesn’t have to be a neat and orderly sequence of events. No one on the panel ended up where they thought they would initially, but each one still has a job that they are proud of. The future looks brighter than it did before.