While most St. Lawrence students were settling in for their final week of January break, a group of 28 students were on the road to the nation’s capital for SLU’s first ever ConnectDC program. Organized by Career Services, the Connect DC program was a weeklong trip that allowed current SLU students to learn about the many internships and job opportunities that exist in Washington. Furthermore, the program introduced students to alumni from the D.C. area who are eager to help make students’ dream jobs become a reality. The 5 day program, which lasted from January 6th-11th, included tours of some of D.C.’s most famous sites, career panels with local alumni, visits to various D.C. workplaces, and a highly successful networking event.
Former Thelmo President Kelly Appenzeller ’15, worked alongside a committee of alumni to organize the Connect D.C. program. Appenzeller and others worked tirelessly over the last six months to create a packed itinerary for the 5 day trip. Appenzeller aimed to help students establish meaningful professional contacts in the D.C. area. “Its really hard to get a job in Washington unless someone is really pushing your resume to potential employers,” said Appenzeller. SLU students have the luxury of reaching out to St. Lawrence’s wide alumni network for both career advice and potential job opportunities. “Alumni are so willing to help students out,” said Kelly.
For Phoebe Suva ’17, interacting with alumni in so many different sectors and from various class years made an evident impression.
“I definitely took away a lot more than I thought I would,” said Suva. “All of the alums we met were so generous in offering to help us find our future careers, each one made it clear that they wanted to do whatever they could to help SLU students get their foot in the door,” she added. Not only did alumni give student advice on how to succeed in Washington, they also gave students a behind the scenes look at their own careers in the capital. For example, on the group’s tour of the White House they were accompanied by Missy DeCamp ’81. DeCamp, who previously worked for the Republican National Committee, was able to tell students about her own experiences in the White House and add a personal flavor to such a historic building.
When they visited Capitol Hill, students met with Jon Cardinal ’08 and Neil Chatterjee ’99. Cardinal and Chatterjee gave participants a insiders look at life on the hill. Additionally they brought the group inside the Capitol, as well as into the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
It is evident that the program was considered a success. “I would recommend that anyone interested in politics should consider attending,” said Alex Ranger ’17. Ranger, who will be interning at the State Department this summer, noted that he is primarily interested in foreign policy. ConnectDC, however, gave him and other students a chance to examine multiple career options, such as working at a non-profit, pursuing a career at a law firm, or being employed by a tech start-up.
One highlight for Suva , Ranger, and others, was meeting Congresswoman Katherine Clark ’85. “The Congresswoman was really approachable, and definitely recognized how St. Lawrence helped her get to where she is in her career today,” said Ranger. “I was able to walk right up to Congresswoman Clark and give her my business card, “ said Suva. “I talked to her for a while about everything from her work in Congress to the TV show Scandal. At what other school would you be given the chance to talk to a sitting member of Congress about Scandal?” Phoebe added. Appenzeller noted that while Career Services has not started planning ConnectDC 2016 just yet, they hope to make the event an annual event. “Our dream for the future is to host events like ConnectDC in major cities around the nation,” said Appenzeller. With the success of this year’s ConnectDC program, whatever similar networking event trips occur in coming years are sure to be a success.