A fun night

Tonight I spoke at my old alma mater Macalester to a group of 25 alumni about my path from Mac to my current career. I was joined by 4 other amazing panelists, and we each spoke for around 10 minutes, and then did Q&A and schmoozed afterwards.

The goal of the stories was to tell these grads that it's ok not to know exactly what you want to do, that your liberal arts background sets you up for being able to assess a situation, and make more out of opportunities. We all had distinctly non-linear histories to tell.

The other people had great stories - one is a recent grad (04) who went right into consulting, but now works non-profit lobbying for better public transit options. Another (95) was a non-profiteer who 4 years ago decided to throw it all away, mortgage her house, and open a high-end baby/toddler clothes boutique, which is quite successful. Another (86) was a marketing assistant for 8 years before leaping into the world of food writing, and now he's a columnist for the Boston Globe and was on TV with America's Test Kitchen. And yet another (96) was a history major Academic, who thanks to taking a part time job in a non profit and having her boss quit the next day, learned about real estate development and financing, which she took to, and is now very high up in one of the biggest twin cities development firms.

I think we all brought different perspectives, and I found myself wanting to add more thoughts as each panelist added something new... but held back. I think we gave a very rich picture of the different ways people find their path in life. People seemed very appreciative.

It was very odd and wonderful to be at a point in life where I not only feel like I have a good career, but I have advice for others... advice they can use and that I wouldn't have minded hearing. One good question was whether we thought Mac should have done more to help us find that path. I responded that after coming out of Mac, it took 3 years for me to find something that I truly loved doing (programming), and that the most important thing Mac gave me was the skills to experiment and look critically at a situation, to maximize an opportunity.

I related that when I picked my major in Music, the department was very small - just a handful of music majors every year. So with a large staff and few majors, that meant the department was really my playground, and I could have access that you'd never get at a larger school that was more conservatory based. I took that "carpe department" philosophy to my subsequent jobs, and that's how I found my next job and the next and the next...

So it was great fun, and I appreciated being given the chance to speak. And I think there's a chance they'll invite me back. They're having two more panels in this vein - one for living in non-profit, and one for making a career in the creative field. I told the crowd I'd be back for both, referring to both my year at Citizens for a Better Environment, and my year working for Midi Music USA doing Karaoke backing tracks...

Now it's off to bed!