On Oct. 29, The Center for Career Advancement (CCA) sponsored the New York City Communication, Arts & Entertainment Fair, as well as a field trip to NBC Universal and Christie’s Auction House. This trip is held annually to introduce students to the workings of the communications, arts, and entertainment industries.

The field trip gave students an opportunity to connect with alumni, parents and organization representatives in those fields. “Organizations within these industries/fields seldom recruit on college campuses, so we try to bring our students to the organizations that they have an interest in,” said Alison Ordonez, the Associate Director of the CCA and field trip coordinator.

Kallie Kocinski ’21 said that it was “beneficial to arts and science students to have career fair that focused more so on the arts because so many of the ones at school revolve around engineers and accounting.”

Jessi Schlicht ’20 also saw the career fair was an advantageous opportunity “to meet Bucknell alum, learn about their companies, and get candid answers to my questions about the job search (and the stresses of it all)! Hearing the reassuring words from them, and the fact that they all found jobs, made me feel a lot better about the whole process.”

Before the career fair, the CCA offered a tour of NBC Universal headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, as well as an inside look at Christie’s auction house. At 30 Rock, students learned about the inner-workings of NBC late-night shows and the signature NBC page program. The tour was followed by a networking and info session with University alumni who are currently working at NBC Universal in various positions. Next, students went across the street to Christie’s Auction House to learn about how luxury artwork is valued and sold.

Employers shared career guidance and advice on the industry, as well as information on internships and full-time positions available in their organization. As many of the company representatives were recent graduates of the University or parents of University graduates, students were able to begin to forge relationships with alumni who work in their fields of interest.

Schlicht also noted that you never know how someone may be able to help you so making these connections was valuable. “Plus – it was a great way of networking and making connections that can hopefully help me lock in a job after my time at Bucknell comes to an end.”

“The NYC Career Fair was a great opportunity to connect with fellow Bucknellians and learn more about potential career paths. It gave me a chance to gain a better understanding of their work in the field and the types of projects that they participate in,” Olivia Garvey ’21 said.