Click here and here for pictures from the trip.

Fabricio Monroy ’10 – The trip to New York City was a unique and enhancing experience for my professional development. It all started Thursday morning, visiting some alumni places of work. First, we went to Betsey Johnson, a renowned designing company, and met Godfred Yemofio ’01 from Ghana. He is working as a manager in business intelligence for the company. He was really accessible and provided us with some good advice in order to get started in the job market. He shared his knowledge and unique perspective like any other international student who wanted to start in the business world. He shared the way he got involved in his current job and the entire path he followed after his graduation in 2001.

Later on, we headed to Banc of America, one of the most exciting places, in my personal opinion. We were treated as real businessmen, interacting and visiting the places where magnates make millionaires business. We met two alumni who work there: Ted Zimmer ’09 and Jay Allen ‘79. They provided us with their unique insight. Networking opens a whole new world of opportunities for all the ones who care about their professional and academic future.

Banc of America is such an exciting place to work if you are interested in the financial world. They gave us some tips in how to get engaged in the financial world even though you are coming from a small liberal arts college in the Midwest. Until this trip I did not realize the importance of networking in the business world. However, never is it too late to get involved and ready for the job market. Networking is a great and innovative way to open doors and opportunities. Therefore, I strongly encourage to everyone to be attentive and responsive to every possible opportunity. 

Will Skertic ’11 – After getting lost in New Jersey I must say I was a little uncertain of what this trip to New York would bring. We were walking down the sidewalk, all 12 of us in suits, when we were called out to by an aggressive cabbie looking to make a buck. We kept walking. When he made it to our side of the street it turned out that he was, in fact, not a cabbie. He was one of Betsey Johnson employees we would soon be visiting with, and he had come to make sure we got there. As the cliché goes, things are never what they seem.

Our next stop was Banc of America to talk with Jay Allen ’79 and Ted Zimmer ’09 about investment banking. Being one of the ‘arts guys’ on the trip, the investment banking visit shouldn’t have been appealing to me, and at first it wasn’t. Nonetheless, I paid attention dutifully as any Wabash Man would, ever aware that we all represent Wabash College wherever we go. To my surprise I did indeed find a genuine interest in our meeting. My interest was mergers and acquisitions. The point is, it’s hard to know exactly what you’re getting into.That is exactly the sentiment I held before the trip. I’d be going with eleven other gentlemen, of whom I knew zero before this trip. I’ve seen my fraternity brothers return from trips of varying lengths with stronger bonds than before and dismissed the effects of their trip. Of course it would take a firsthand experience for me to truly appreciate the way in which these short trips can build and strengthen friendships. This networking trip to New York was that indeed, but it was much more than what it seemed and honestly unexpected. I have a newfound desire to live and work in New York, at least for a little while. More so however, I have a deepened appreciation and love for Wabash College, an outlook beholden to our alumni, and a drive to be equally as generous with any success in my life. This trip strengthened my bonds with other Wabash Men in the fraternity that is, Wabash College.

Matt Wynn ’10 – Thursday afternoon was probably the most memorable time of our entire trip for reasons both good and bad. The negatives, while funny in hindsight, were not so humorous at the time. The weather was dreadful. We had to travel all over Manhattan in our suits amidst freezing temperatures, pouring rain and gusting winds. However, I don’t think that any of us will soon forget the image of Scott Crawford trying to shield himself from the downpour with his broken, three-dollar umbrella.The positives of the afternoon far outweighed the temporary discomfort that the weather imposed upon us. We had a delicious Italian lunch at the Simply Pasta restaurant and spoke with two alumni who shared some of their experiences leading up to their careers on Wall Street. They were very helpful and willing to assist us in any way that they could.After lunch, we visited BRAINFUSE, an online tutoring service that is currently trying to grow. Our speaker there gave us an enthusiastic overview of the marketing industry including some of his personal projects and successes. He was impressed with the engagement of the Wabash students and we were all impressed by his knowledge of and passion for his trade. After visiting BRAINFUSE, we had the opportunity to visit the headquarters of a service which all of us have used extensively, Vault. Vault provides insider information about careers through numerous guides as well as an open forum on which people can discuss their experiences working in different industries and for different firms. At Vault we learned about growing a small business, interviewing for a job and living in New York as well as received general advice on how to succeed. After that, it was time for the cold and rainy trek back to our hotel before a night of individual exploration.

Josh Raspopovich ’11 – Thursday afternoon in New York City was a rainy and cold day but as soon as we walked in the conference room at BRAINFUSE, a man by the name of Jay Vix instantly warmed our Wabash group up. Although he was not a Wabash alumnus, he had a similar background in liberal arts
as we did at Cornell University. He instructed us on his path through Marketing and how he worked his way up to be the Director of Marketing and New Media for four diverse companies at the young age of 29. His talk was very inspirational for many of the Wabash students in attendance including myself. Unfortunately, after we left this great experience we were right back in a downpour and gusty winds. Eventually we found shelter by taking the New York subway system to our next location at Vault. Some of you, hopefully all of you, should be familiar with this company. Their company provides guidance in career search and related subjects and is featured on our own WabashWorks website. I encourage all of you to visit Vault on the website because it gives first-class insight into all industries and thousands of companies nation-wide. For those of us who visited Vault it was very interesting seeing the workings of a company such as this. Alexis Krase, Director of Enterprise Licensing Sales, gave our group some insight as to how Vault came to be and the future of its company. Her own input about interview tips and resumes and cover letters were also very helpful. Overall the New York Networking trip was a huge success for all the students who went. We all made valuable connections with numerous alumni and received great insight into the job search process, not to mention the experience of being in the city of New York. Personally, I am very excited to see what the future holds and through this trip I have came to the realization that New York would be a great fit for me.