‘We are all trying to balance a million things at once’
Last week, I attended the Sophomore Summit, an immersive experience that emphasized the importance of investigating your future career options early. Throughout the summit, I felt connected to my peers because we are all in the same boat, trying to balance a million things at once, between school, jobs, internships, and life.
One of the highlights was working with my fellow sophomores to review our STRONG Interest Inventory, a popular assessment tool that matches personal interests with potential careers. We all compared what fields and roles could suit us and what our values, hobbies, and traits are. The tool aligns people with one of six general occupational themes:
- R – Realistic (Doers)
- I – Investigative (Thinkers)
- A – Artistic (Creators)
- S – Social (Helpers)
- E – Enterprising (Persuaders)
- C – Conventional (Organizers)
The assessment felt very accurate for me and aligned with my goals. My top letter was “S” for social, meaning I enjoy working with people and helping my community — all true. For my academic interests, the assessment placed law as No. 1, which was motivating for me to see because I hope to become a corporate lawyer. I also loved seeing journalism as a possible career; writing will always be in my heart even if I don’t pursue it.
The summit was helpful because now is the time for sophomores to start focusing on finding internships. The sessions that focused on research, internships, and career planning gave useful advice and listed resources available at the Career Connections Center, where advisors help us with academics and planning our future.
The summit provided many opportunities to network with Clark alumni and hear their stories, which gave me a different perspective on being a Clark student. I met an alum who wrote for The Scarlet throughout her undergrad years, which I was excited to hear about. Tim Hally ’19, MBA ’20, who is also a professor in the School of Business, spoke about how finding a community at Clark helped him overcome difficulties. He noted that Clark alumni are always willing to connect with current students to help with finding jobs or internships.
I also chatted with current Clark students who have gained experience interning, networking, submitting applications, fixing a resume, and more. I was able to talk to people I had seen around campus but had never met before. One of those people was Ephraim Butson ’27, who advised us to network with our peers — he said the more people you know, the better, because even fellow students can still recommend you for opportunities.
In addition to Hally and Butson, presenters included Melisa Alves, associate dean of the college, director of career education and experiential learning; Midlay Carrasquillo Delgado, associate director of career education and experiential learning; Lisa Chase, associate director, internship and experiential learning programs; Professor and Interim Associate Dean of the College Cyril Ghosh; Adowa Sakyi-Lamptey, senior associate director of employer and alumni engagement; Mark Jacobs ’89, MFA ’25, director of the Clark University Socr-AI-tic Lab for Collaborative Pedagogy; Professor Elizabeth Bone; Taylor Laflamme ’23, M.S. ’24; Greeshma Timmanpyati ’25; Orlie Jeranyama ’24, MBA ’25; Teigen Hoff ’26, M.S. ’27; and Morgan Parisse ’26, MBA ’27.
In the days leading up to the event, my friends and I were enthusiastically asking who would be attending the Sophomore Summit. It feels like a highlight that so many Clark sophomores have, and now, so do I.
