Easing career anxiety with the Sophomore Institute

Coming into Sophomore Institute (SI), I had a lot of anxiety about my career. I felt like I had to make a choice about my career that would determine what I would do for the rest of my life. I had no idea what I wanted to do. I knew some things I didn’t want to do (math stuff), but I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. But I was still excited to be at SI. I was back on campus, got a cool name tag and was seeing my friends, who I’d missed for weeks. 

As I sat in Gamble Auditorium during the first session, I felt relieved. The staff from the Career Development Center (CDC) told us that it was OK not to know what we wanted to do right now. Caedyn Busche ’17 said that “uncertainty is expected.” I instantly felt relieved. I knew that as long as I was showing up with intention, those next few days would be opportunities to explore what possibilities lay ahead. 

And explore I did; I attended panels on grad school, imposter syndrome, conducting research and networking. The panels featured MHC alums who came back to tell us about their career journeys and what they liked (and didn’t like) about their jobs. I was amazed by how many alums were just like me: they didn’t know exactly what they were going to do after graduation. I particularly connected with Kalyani Kannan ’17’s discussion of their career during the “Your Career and Your Identities” alum panel and how they told themself “to just make the next right decision.” This immediately put me at ease and helped me take career advice in that moment. I don’t need to plan out the next five decades of my life right now; I just need to make one or two good decisions. At that moment, that meant updating my LinkedIn page and signing up for the CDC’s Career Communities newsletter. 

Aside from the opportunities to connect with alums during SI, I also found myself connecting with my peers in new ways. In my cohort (a small group of other sophomores assigned by career goals/academic interests), I met other students I’d never met before who had similar career interests to mine. Together, we discussed what we were learning and debriefed about the sessions we attended. I also found myself talking to my friends about our futures in ways we hadn’t before. Our dinner conversations pivoted from talking about the shows we were watching and the best dining hall foods to possible alums we wanted to network with and what our future jobs might look like. Those conversations with friends helped me gain more clarity about what I wanted to do job-wise and how to move forward with that knowledge. 

My favorite part of SI was the alum networking reception on the last day. Although going up to random people felt scary, the CDC sessions helped me feel super prepared. Dressed in carefully configured business attire, I faced the frigid air and made my way to Chapin Auditorium, where a room of alums waited. As recommended, I had researched a couple of alums I wanted to talk to, and I was grateful to see they had not cancelled attending due to the incoming winter storm. The reception was a blur: of shaking hands, refilling water cups and talking to alums. I was so impressed to see the sheer number of alums who had turned out, all eager to support current students. I talked to many alums that night, and I am grateful to SI for fostering those connections. 

Looking back on that first session in Gamble Auditorium, I’m amazed at how much more confident I feel now. I didn’t know that four days could be so instrumental. I still don’t know exactly what my career goals are, but I know that I have the resources to figure it out and an alum community supporting me each step of the way. In my immediate future, I’m excited to study abroad this summer in Seville, Spain, and I hope to volunteer at a local nonprofit.