We’ve Moved!

Thank you for being a reader of Penn & Beyond: The Penn Career Services Blog!

If you haven’t noticed already, as of August 2019, new posts are no longer being made to this site. Don’t fret, though! All of our great writers, student bloggers and the CS Radio Podcast are still posting new content on our new site – https://careerservices.upenn.edu/blog

This site will remain up for some time as an archive. We hope you’ll join us at our new address!

Curtain Call

J. Michael DeAngelis, Senior Digital Resources Manager

Penn alum Harold Prince (COL ’48) passed away today at age 91. Prince was a legendary theater producer and director, responsible for such classics as West Side Story, Cabaret, Company, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Evita, The Phantom of the Opera, Parade and many many others.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Harold Prince about ten years ago right here on campus. He had come, as he did on more than one occasion, to speak to the Penn community about his career and take questions from students. I had the additional luck of attending a reception after and I recall the twinkle in his eye as he reunited with some of his fellow classmates, by then all in their mid-80s, but giggling in the way that only friends from undergrad do.

During his Q&A session, I asked him what made a good book to a musical, since he had previously said it was the most important ingredient. “I don’t know,” he said, “I just know that if you don’t have a good one, you’re dead.” Back at the reception, I introduced myself as the person who asked about books, explaining that I had just been published as playwright for the first time by Samuel French, Inc. His eyes lit up and he suddenly seemed ten years younger, throwing his arm around me: “ME TOO! I wrote one play and it’s with Sam French! Keep it up. Don’t stop!”

I could have lived in that moment forever. Here was a living legend, tossing his arm around me as if we were absolute peers. I’ve carried that gratitude with me since then and I hope that I’ve been able to pass that on. I’m no Hal Prince, but I’ve been lucky in my career and I feel I owe it to those striking out on a similar path to make them feel welcome and encourage them, as Mr. Prince did for me, to not stop.

No matter what your career path, I ask today that you follow in the steps of Harold Prince. Be bold in your ventures, be kind in their execution and be supportive of those who want to follow in your footsteps.

Closed Today

Career Services will be closed today, Friday, June 14th while a technology project is completed in our office. This includes the front desk and library lounge.

Staff will be unavailable today, but we look forward to seeing you again on Monday! Have a great weekend.

CS Radio – Episode 90: “Live Show” (Season Finale)

It’s the last episode of Season Four! Thank you so much for being loyal listeners! We’ll be back in September with more great career related conversations! Last week, Michael and Mylene were joined by Natty Leach for a live broadcast of CS Radio on Intsagram. The discussion was about an recent article in the New York Times about the perils of following your “passion,” followed by a Q&A session with the audience. Enjoy and we’ll see you next season!

SHOW NOTES

CS Radio – Episode 89: “Summer Prep”

The summer came blowing in across the sea…or at least it will be soon! As the semester nears its end and the promise of summer stands tantalizingly before us, Mylene and Michael take a look at what you can be doing now to pre-plan for a career ready summer! Enjoy!