Through a range of activities, Syracuse University students can explore career opportunities from the get-go. They benefit from experiential learning through classes, profession-related clubs and organizations, internships and off-campus trips.
Creating a Path in Communications
Alexa Korrie ’28 (center) joins CitrusTV colleagues Moira Vaughan ’26 (left) and Lucas Welch ’26 in the studio. Korrie has gained valuable experience at the student-run broadcast station, where she’ll be an executive producer in the fall.
When Alexa Korrie ’28 arrived at Syracuse University, she went all-in on building her journalism credentials. “I immersed myself in every opportunity that came my way and got as much hands-on experience as I possibly could,” says the broadcast and digital journalism major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
On campus, she’s gained a wealth of experience through being involved with WAER radio, managing social media for the Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse Club, interning with Syracuse University Athletic Communications and working at CitrusTV, where she’ll enter her third year and be an executive producer this fall.
Initially interested in sports reporting, Korrie is now focused on public relations and marketing and plans to pursue work in Boston, where she interned this summer with the 617MediaGroup as part of its partnership development and client services teams. And she has PR and social media internships lined up for this fall.
“When it comes to finding a job post-grad, experience is everything,” Korrie says.
Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset
James “Jay” Slaven ’29 (right) and Imaad Maqsood ’29 visit Disney Studios in Burbank, California, as part of a career exploration trip last semester to Los Angeles and San Francisco, hosted by the Whitman Career Center.
James “Jay” Slaven ’29 is a “big believer” in experiential learning and sees personal and professional development, skill building and networking among the benefits. “Once you try an opportunity, it’ll help shape you to become a better professional,” says Slaven, an entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises and accounting major at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.
Slaven belongs to multiple campus organizations, including the Entrepreneurship Club. He works at Syracuse University Libraries’ LaunchPad and serves as a career ambassador, peer mentor and teaching assistant at Whitman. With a future focused on working for a big accounting firm in New York City and then starting his own business and moving to the West Coast, Slaven appears well on his way.
“This school has so many amazing resources and great opportunities that I felt like I would be missing out if I didn’t capitalize on everything I could,” he says.
Connecting With Community
Bella Cecchinelli ’29 (center) enjoys a moment with classmates in Italy during a Maymester course where students learned about the country’s inclusive education policies and visited schools.
As an inclusive childhood education major in the School of Education (SOE), Bella Cecchinelli ’29 envisions teaching young elementary school students, drawing on a special education background and eventually studying special education policies and law. “This way, I can continue to be a strong advocate for my students’ individual needs,” they say.
This school has so many amazing resources and great opportunities that I felt like I would be missing out if I didn’t capitalize on everything I could.
James “Jay” Slaven ’29
For Cecchinelli, it was important to connect with the school’s community and seek out opportunities, starting the first semester. They participated in the Book Buddies reading program at a local elementary school and in Seeds of Stories, a project that brings together students’ cultural backgrounds with science and cooking through virtual storytelling. Dedicated to SOE’s InclusiveU program, Cecchinelli has served as a peer partner and will be a student support assistant for the program this fall.
“It is important to me to take advantage of these opportunities because they give me a better sense of where my passion in education lies,” Cecchinelli says. “Through the opportunities on campus, I have gotten a better feel for who I am as a future educator and how to achieve my goals.”
