career center

By Rose Chen '26 Renowned designer Stuart Weitzman visited Wesleyan on Thursday, Oct. 12 to share the inspiration behind his highly successful high fashion and luxury shoe company and give students advice from his 45-year career on entrepreneurship, risk-taking, creativity, and imagination. His talk was part of the Gordon Career Center’s Career Conversations and was hosted in Ring Family Performing Arts Hall. “The chief goal of events like this is to show students the myriad opportunities that are available to them with a liberal arts education,” Gordon Career Center Executive Director Sharon Belden Castonguay said. “Students are going to come…

Forty-six Wesleyan students interested in finance, journalism, public health, tech, theater, and music had the opportunity to participate in a three-day immersive career exploration program over winter break. Spearheaded by the Gordon Career Center's Winter on Wyllys programming, the inaugural New York City Career Trek, held Jan. 16-18, allowed students to travel to New York City and meet and network with Wesleyan alumni at their places of work. Industry sites included: Citi and Bloomberg for finance; The New York Times and Hearst Communications for journalism; Atlantic Records and BtOVEN MUSIC for music; Pfizer and the National Hemophilia Foundation for public health;…

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Wesleyan has been nominated and named as a finalist for the Technology Excellence Award presented by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Awards are presented to universities and employers for “excellence in the use of technology and/or various social media outlets.” Wesleyan earned this distinction for the Gordon Career Center's premier podcast series, Careers By Design, which highlights the careers of some of Wesleyan’s most successful alumni. Sharon Belden Castonguay, director of the Gordon Career Center and Rachel Munafo, assistant director of the Gordon Career Center, will present on the podcast series and represent Wesleyan at the NACE…

Two Wesleyan alumni and two students who have experience working for global management consulting firms Deloitte Consulting and McKinsey & Company visited Wesleyan's Gordon Career Center on Feb. 17 to speak with undergraduates about "Management Consulting 101." The alumni, Michele Drossner ’14 (Deloitte) and Winston Soh ’14 (Deloitte), and students Cindy Horng ’17 (Deloitte) and Asad Hassanali ’17 (McKinsey) advised the students to prepare themselves for internships and full-time recruiting. The event concluded with a Q&A session. Drossner majored in economics and psychology and works with clients in the life sciences, business model transformation and strategy. Soh majored in the College of Social Studies…

The Gordon Career Center is helping students design their futures. Through a new intensive seminar called Careers by Design, Wesleyan students can explore the many influences on their career decision making and make choices that are right for them. The Gordon Career Center’s innovative approach to career education encourages students to design their own careers by exploring the intersection between their interests, the skills they have and wish to acquire, and market demand. “Careers by Design is a framework that applies the principles of design thinking to solve every college student’s ultimate questions: ‘Who do I want to be? What…

During Reunion & Commencement Weekend, the Wesleyan community celebrated the dedications of three prominent areas of campus with ribbon-cutting ceremonies. They include Boger Hall (formerly 41 Wyllys), the Gordon Career Center (located inside Boger Hall), and The West Wing of Usdan University Center. (more…)

The Gordon Career Center (GCC) recently began a new collaboration with HBX—Harvard Business School's CORe (Credential of Readiness Program), an online business fundamentals primer developed and taught by Harvard Business School faculty. Wesleyan students looking to gain basic business fundamentals can complete the program over the summer—in some cases, on the side with a summer job or internship. According to Rachel Munafo, the GCC's assistant director of public relations and communications, several alumni who have completed the program raved about its usefulness. The curriculum is appropriate for students across all majors, and is open to underclassmen, graduating seniors and recent graduates. (more…)

On Friday, April 1, almost 70 students and 38 expert advisors (including 31 Wesleyan alumni and parents) came together for one-on-one speed networking sessions during Connect@WES: Creating Connections in Beckham Hall. Sponsored by the Gordon Career Center, the annual event is designed to teach students how to develop professional relationships outside of the Career Center and Wesleyan. This year’s event included advisors representing Peatix, RNSights, Northeastern, JP Morgan, NBC Universal, Merrill Lynch, Planned Parenthood, the State of Connecticut, Aon Hewitt, Epsilon, Perella Weinberg, FCTRY, Citi and many others. (more…)

“What Does It Take to Launch a Successful Career?” Two notable members of the Wesleyan community tackled that question in a career workshop titled Your Career Playbook, sponsored by the WESpeaker Series, the Athletics Advantage Program and the Wesleyan Career Center on Feb. 26. Julie Bennett ’00, former captain of the women’s basketball team and member of the Athletic Advisory Council and now in sales and trading in equity derivatives at Citigroup (her “dream job”) joined Wesleyan trustee Jim Citrin P’12, P’14, leader of Spencer Stuart's North American CEO Practice, and author of The Career Playbook: Essential Advice for Today’s Aspiring Young Professional in…

Between Jan. 4-20, the Career Center hosted Winter on Wyllys, a series of programs that assistant students with their own career development. Students had the opportunity to shadow an employer during Winter Break; identify what factors may be influencing their choice of major or career path; explore internship and career opportunities online; meet with alumni; learn about a career in teaching through the Teacher Generation Program; and participate in an intensive two-day Wall Street Prep's Financial Training Seminar.

On April 10, the Career Center hosted its second annual Connect@WES: Creating Connections, an on-campus event bringing together alumni, parents and recruiters as expert advisors for brief one-on-one networking sessions with students. More than 100 students and 32 advisors—including 25 Wesleyan alumni and parents—attended the event in Beckham Hall. Speakers at the event included Ed Heffernan '84, president and CEO of Alliance Data, who spoke to students about big data and the usefulness of a liberal arts education in business; Evan Shapiro P’17, executive vice president of digital enterprises at NBCUniversal, who held two breakout sessions for students interested in careers in digital…

Designer Stuart Weitzman Spotlighted in Career Conversation at Wesleyan

Alumni Lead Students on 3-Day Career Trek

Rothschild ’94 Speaks to Students about His Entrepreneurial Path

Wesleyan Named Finalist In NACE Technology Excellence Award

Alumni Speak to Students about Careers in Management Consulting

Gordon Career Center Teaches Career Education through Course, Podcast Interviews

Boger Hall, Gordon Career Center, The West Wing Dedicated During R&C Weekend

Gordon Career Center Begins New Collaboration with Harvard Business School

Connect@WES Helps Students Develop Networking Skills

Citrin P’12, P’14 and Bennett ’00 Offer Advice, Experience in Career Workshop

Winter on Wyllys Provides Students with Career Development

Career Center Hosts Second Annual Connect@WES