Who Can Use Career Services?

by J. Michael DeAngelis, Information Resources Manager

It’s a question that comes up at the start of every school year: “Am I eligible to use Career Services?”

If you’re a current Penn student or an alumni, the answer is probably a resounding YES!  We offer lifetime services to our graduates in the programs that we serve.  While we do service a huge part of the Penn community, we don’t see everyone.  I thought it would be a good time to highlight our official eligibility policy:

Eligibility for Services

Career Services is the central career resource center for all Penn undergraduates; for graduate and professional students in Annenberg, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Graduate School of Education, School of Design, Medicine (master’s and PhD), Nursing, Social Policy and Practice and Wharton Doctoral Programs; for alumni from these schools; and for post-doctoral trainees.

Full-time students in a degree program in these schools/programs have access to all services.

Part-time students in a degree program, both graduate and undergraduate, within one year of graduation also have full access.

Full-time students in a degree program at The College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) have access to all services. Part-time students in a degree program within one year of graduation also have full access. Part-time LPS undergraduates who have more than one year until graduation have access to the following services:

  •  Use of Career Services library
  • Attendance at programs and workshops
  • Use of credentials service

Exchange students here temporarily, visiting scholars, research assistants, students in non-degree programs and members of the Quaker Exchange taking classes on Penn’s campus for credit at their home institution are generally not eligible to use our services.

So that’s the official policy. What happens if you don’t fall into one of these categories?

Wharton MBA Students – You have your own dedicated office, Wharton MBA Career Management.  They’re also located in McNeil, right across the hall from us.

Penn Law Students – You also have your own dedicated career office: Penn Law Office Career Planning and Professionalism.

Penn Dental Students & Alumni – The Dental School regularly posts jobs on their alumni services page.

Other Members of the Penn Community – Other members of the University community are welcome to use our career library and to attend public presentations sponsored by Career Services.  Anyone with an active PennKey may also access restricted areas of our website, though certain areas may only be available to current students.

Non-Penn affiliated persons – Members of the public are welcome to use the information on our website, blog and social media.  Unfortunately, we can not accommodate non-Penn affiliates at any programming or career fair.

If you are eligible to use are services but have questions about when a good time to come see us is, check out this Career Services timeline for undergraduates or for Ph.D. students.

There is such thing as free lunch, and it’s growing outside my apartment

This is the next in a series of posts by recipients of the Career Services Summer Funding grant.  We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they’ve been spending the summer.  You can read the entire series here.

This entry is by Catherine Darin, COL ’16

When I tell people I spent my summer working on an urban foraging project in Berkeley, CA, they are typically pretty confused. Once I explain urban foraging – it’s harvesting and consuming edible invasive plants (weeds) growing on sidewalks, yards, parks, empty lots, and other public land– they’re still a bit perplexed. I tend to get asked three questions. Do people really do that? Isn’t it unsanitary – what about dog pee? What are you even majoring in?

Dandelion greens growing on a Berkeley, CA sidewalk. When foraging for dandelion greens, it’s best to look for young, big leaves, typically without any flowers.
Dandelion greens growing on a Berkeley, CA sidewalk. When foraging for dandelion greens, it’s best to look for young, big leaves, typically without any flowers.

To answer the first two questions: yes, there are thriving urban foraging communities across the US, including Philadelphia, and no, urban foraging isn’t unsanitary. Don’t worry about dog pee – it’s water soluble, so if you wash your plants, you should be fine.

My answer to the third question tends to surprise people the most. I’m actually studying Economics. But, although it was a bit unconventional for an Econ major, (it’s not finance or consulting) my summer internship with Berkeley Open Source Food very much complimented my Economics coursework at Penn, and also allowed me to pursue my interests in food and agriculture.

A farmer at a small urban farm in Richmond, CA, showing my internship supervisor, Dr. Philip Stark, mustard greens growing abundantly on her land.
A farmer at a small urban farm in Richmond, CA, showing my internship supervisor, Dr. Philip Stark, mustard greens growing abundantly on her land.

Through an economic lens, urban foraging yields a positive externality on society. When people forage, they are consuming fresh, nutritious plants that benefit health and the environment. Foraged foods are filled with vitamins and micronutrients, and have virtually no carbon or water footprint, (which is particularly important with California’s current drought), and pose no financial cost. One of my research tasks this summer was to try to quantify the economic impact of bringing foraged plants into the supply chain, particularly in low-income “food deserts”. This involved lots of data analysis and academic research.

But, there’s obviously a big stigma attached to eating food growing on the street. The other work of my internship was focused on actually building a supply chain between weeds and consumers, so that the potential benefits of foraging can be realized. I loved this part of my internship. One day I might be visiting an urban organic farm, seeing what weeds are growing there that local restaurants may want to buy to serve on their menus. Another day I may be contacting plant nurseries, inquiring if they carry certain native edibles that could be used in an edible garden on the UC Berkeley campus. Other times I would get to play around with cooking dandelions greens, nasturtium, radishes, and many other weeds, to give people ideas on how ways of incorporating these plants into their diets.

A delicious dish I made with fresh pasta and foraged nasturtium flowers and greens.
A delicious dish I made with fresh pasta and foraged nasturtium flowers and greens.

I feel very lucky that I was able to work with Berkeley Open Source Food this summer.  I think that learning about foraging, which is definitely unusual, has piqued my curiosity as a student and as a person, leaving me very excited and motivated to for my last year of classes at Penn. It has also left me inspired to continue to pursue my interest in food systems, as I am actively looking into pursuing an agricultural economics degree after I graduate.

Your Path, Your Future

Today is the first day of classes. There isn’t a handy word for that. We mark graduation with a ceremony, Commencement. The name means a beginning, in this case of the next phase of life for the graduates. We mark the beginning of the academic year with another ceremony, Convocation, which means a calling or coming together. We held our Convocation last night. Among the many wise words were those of our Chaplain, Charles Howard. He urged the entering class not to blindly conform. He reminded them that they were admitted because they stood out from the crowd, and hoped they would not be afraid to do so at Penn as well. Wise words indeed.

Chaplain Howard’s message resonated with me here at the start of the year as we in Career Services see many hundreds of students who are preparing for the future. We have, as it were, called them together to prepare for interviewing or graduate school applications. They hurry along well-trod paths. This may be fine, but too often we see students who are following the herd to particular employers or career fields. Here at the start of the semester, we urge Penn students to find and take their own path.

As you begin what for many of you is your final year at Penn, don’t be afraid to blaze a trail, or take a risk. Wherever your dreams may take you, you will be armed with the power of your Penn education. Find your path. We are here to help you.

On behalf of all of us at Career Services, have a great semester!

Limited Edition Cheesesteaks

This is the next in a series of posts by recipients of the Career Services Summer Funding grant.  We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they’ve been spending the summer.  You can read the entire series here.

This entry is by Sarah Schuster, COL ’17

Some interns get coffee. I got limited edition cheesesteaks, chicken parmesan-filled dumplings, and whole-pig roasts. Mine was a job where a second (or fifth) lunch was considered “training” for the big leagues. I was sent to restaurant openings and reported on brunch, and spent my afternoons in the office talking menus and food trucks. For something as mundane as food, it would seem almost absurd to spend an entire summer devoted to the culture around it, but the food scene in Philadelphia is vibrant, energetic, and honest. Yes— we all eat. But Philly really eats.

For this young writer and food fanatic, the dedicated people behind Philly eats quickly became my family throughout my two positions (I wrote for Foobooz at Philadelphia Magazine, and blogged/worked part-time for the demonstration-restaurant, COOK). Each and every person I worked with treated me as an equal and a professional, handed me a knife or a camera, and set me to work.

It was in these two very different settings that I spent my time tasting and writing about food. During the week, I worked primarily in the Philadelphia Magazine offices. I’d call new vendors and restaurants and ask them for their stories, or I’d research little-known pop-up events and write posts about them. When I had downtime, I’d scour Instagram in search of awesome food photos to round up. In the evenings, I made my way across Rittenhouse Square to COOK where I welcomed and served guests, photographed, and occasionally prepped food alongside chefs for the dinners they held each night. Given my time at Foobooz, I had the opportunity to interview many of these chefs in my magazine position, making working with them hands-on all the more exciting.

The learning was often explicit: re-familiarizing myself with WordPress and learning how to properly edit photos were skills that needed honing, and working on multiple projects at once while in the office let me flex my journalistic muscles. Further, the office setting surrounded me with other professional writers, meaning there was never a dearth of inspiration.

Implicitly, I picked up hosting and management skills by throwing myself immediately into work at COOK, and picked up more information than I thought I could ever remember about the food world of Philly. While I’ve lived in Philadelphia for two years now, before this past summer I had very little knowledge of the world on the other side the Schuylkill River. Now I know the dim sum scene at Passyunk Ave, the pizza in Fishtown, and even the brewers in Phoenixvillle. The city opened up it’s heart and it’s kitchen to me, and there were no invites I refused.

Whether it was practicing plating with Jose Garces in his kitchen or grocery shopping with chefs at the Fitler Square Farmer’s Market before blogging late into the night for COOK, my summer constantly offered me new experiences in the food and journalism world that is undeniably central to Philadelphia. I’ll be continuing part-time work at both places in the fall, and longterm friendship, too: if I learned nothing else after this summer, I now know without a doubt that those who eat together, stay together.

And that where there’s good food and good company, there is always a good story.

Resume Submissions Now Open for Full-Time On-Campus Recruiting

By Barbara Hewitt

OCRS4

Even though the official start of the school year is still a couple of days away, on campus recruiting is already underway! The official interviews will begin on Monday, September 21st, but many of the resume submission periods opened on August 17th so that you could get an early start if you would like. (That said, the first resume deadline is not until Sunday, September 13th, so no need to worry if you haven’t started yet!) Students graduating in December 2015 or May/August 2016 are welcome to participate in on-campus recruiting for full-time positions. If you plan to participate, please attend a live OCR orientation (held on Wednesday, August 26th, 12:00 – 1:00, Claudia Cohen Hall, Terrace Room OR Friday, August 28th, 2:00 – 3:00, Huntsman 240). If you are unable to attend the live orientation you can watch the on-line version here at your convenience. Students participating in on-campus interviewing are expected to be familiar with the information provided in the orientation. Employer information sessions (lots of them!) will begin on Wednesday, August 26th. You can see the list of information sessions by logging into PennLink or checking this page which doesn’t require you to log into PennLink.

Finally, don’t forget the Career Services advisors are here to assist you throughout the process, including perfecting your resume and cover letters, practicing your interviewing skills, and negotiating offers. Best wishes for the beginning of the new year!