Hello hello!
Welcome back to Wellesley. Spring semester awaits us – along with warmer weather and longer days!
I actually returned to campus last Monday, for a sophomore career retreat! Luminaire was a retreat hosted by Wellesley Career Education. Over the course of 4 days, a group of 30 sophomores (including me!) embarked on a ~journey of self reflection~. We talked about our values, interests, and skills – and more importantly, ways we could incorporate those three into our future careers. I learned that careers aren’t linear, and there’s always a lot of ambiguity involved when planning for the future.
Additionally, each night, we had alum panels. I thought this was an amazing opportunity to hear from Wellesley alums on their career developments, their stories, and find new mentors to help along the way! I can go to hundreds of Wellesley alum panels and never get bored – the network is truly incredible.
On Friday, we were split into four groups, and had the opportunity to visit an employer site. I was selected to tour Vertex Pharmaceuticals. As Cognitive Science major, it was neat to see the variety of careers at a biotechnology company. I was also able to apply what I had learned about values, skills, and interests to Vertex and hear how they integrate those into their company culture.
Overall, this retreat exceeded my expectations. It was an invaluable experience, and I feel more in control of my future career decisions. I also think I got to know myself better (thank you, self-reflection). For any prospies or first years reading this, I cannot recommend this retreat enough!
For more about the retreat, here’s the Daily Shot article about it.
Happy first week of classes (more on that next week!),
Shreya