By Ben Bradshaw ’15

Before heading back to Wabash and delving back into classes, 12 fortunate students had the opportunity to embark on a Profession Immersion Experience to San Francisco.  Career Services Director Scott Crawford and Assistant Director James Jeffries planned the trip and traveled with the students.

Bradshaw ’15 and his fellow Beta brothers are all smiles after a day at some of the fastest growing companies in the US

Though the trip was short, it was packed with useful knowledge, new places, and helpful information for the students.  The day of the trip was spent traveling and exploring the new terrain.  A beautiful hotel on the Pacific Ocean acted as home for travelers and provided them with scenic sunrises each morning before taking off for the day.

On Thursday, the group traveled to Silicon Valley.  Here, they visited Shutterfly, Mei Wu Acoustics, Google, Red Rock Coffee, and Knack.  Of these, the first four businesses employed a Wabash graduate who showed us around and asked questions.  While most of these revolved around technology, not usually a strong suit at Wabash, students gained a sense of where a liberal arts degree could take them.  The individuals that make up the student group came from various backgrounds with regard to their majors/minors and activities on campus.

A long day on Thursday did not stop students from hoping out of bed on Friday morning, just in time to see the sunrise over the Pacific as they grabbed breakfast at the hotel.  With Director Scott “Razorback” Crawford at the helm, the group set off for downtown San Francisco.  Awaiting them in the The City by The Bay were a group of exciting businesses, many focusing on technology.  These included Indiegogo, Twitter, Wikimedia, Aon Consulting, and Calypso Technologies.  While only two of these businesses had Wabash men working for them, the employees at all were quite welcoming and willing to offer knowledge and advice.

Friday night was one of my favorite parts of the trip, and because of this, I’ll spend more time reflecting on it. We arrived at dinner after a long day of immersion in different businesses.  Our dinner was scheduled at Lolinda, a Portuguese restaurant in the Mission District.  The food and drinks were phenomenal, but the real treat came with the people we conversed with over dinner.  Approximately 20 alumni and 15 guests from our destinations from our two days of discovery joined us at the table for drinks and dinner.

For the most part, students sat with individuals whose companies they were intrigued by sometime during the previous two days. Jordan Johnson (Physics Major) sat by an alumnus who works at Mei Wei Acoustics; James Kennedy (Art/Physics Major) sat by the graphics designer at Knack, as so on.  I was fortunate enough to sit by John Fields, the owner of a venture capital firm specializing in financing water and energy efficiency programs.  I’m extremely interesting in investing, and having some background knowledge on venture capital through my father, John and had talked for most of the night.  I’ve stayed in touch, and have a call with John on Friday afternoon.  I also spent a great deal of time talking to one of the founders of Profusa, a startup company with a product that helps read blood sugar levels without pricking ones finger for those with diabetes.  We discussed the business process they’re going through as a startup company.  It was exciting to see the development that goes into starting up the business side after a great product has already been developed.

The men had a packed day, but that didn’t stop them from staying attentive during all of their scheduled meetings

Overall, the trip was a great experience.  In talking with individuals from all kinds of businesses in San Francisco, students were able to learn outside of the classroom, and certainly learned more than they do inside the classroom.  I’d recommend the trip to others in a heartbeat, and will carry memories, knowledge, and connections from the trip for years to come.

By Michael Haffner ’16

Fortunate to have been selected for the immersion trip to San Francisco, I was surprised to find such a supportive and abundant Wabash community throughout the Bay Area.  We met and interacted with the companies of multiple alums, along with a few others, all of whom generously let us observe their workspace.  We discussed the ins and outs of life after Wabash and more specifically life as a San Franciscan.

We spent the first day of the trip in Silicon Valley visiting Shutterfly, Mei Wu Acoustics, Google, Red Rock Coffee, and Knack.  The second day we observed various companies in downtown San Francisco including: Indiegogo, Twitter, Wikimedia, AON, and Calypso Technologies.  Each company differed in the way they functioned.  For instance, Wikimedia and Red Rock Coffee are non-profit organizations with philanthropic goals in mind while Google, Shutterfly, Twitter, and others were for-profit companies focused heavily on growth and earnings.  What fascinated me was that each company attracted and sought out employees with specific personality types.  Wikimedia was filled with workers who sought to make a difference in the world, regardless of how much money they made.  Their goal was to be able to allow each person in the world to have online access to the same educational tools.  Calypso technologies, a for-profit organization, on the other hand, attracted hard working people who, because of the potential for higher pay, were willing to spend a lot of hours traveling and working in various demanding positions.

Wabash men were in SF for only two days, but that didn’t stop them from seeing a good deal of the city and the wonders it had to offer

Furthermore, we were able to observe the work environment in both established companies as well as a startup company, Knack.  Knack strategically designs games that shed insight into the psychology of a person.  In future years, Knack hopes that other companies, and possibly even colleges, use their games to measure the likelihood of success of  candidates for employment or a student at a particular school.  The main difference I noticed between Knack and more established companies was the type of discussions that were occurring among employees.  At Knack, the atmosphere was loose and encouraged creative thinking while at Google, everyone had a task and the employees were haphazardly winding through the Google campus with a mission.

To wrap up the trip, we attended a networking dinner at a unique Argentinian restaurant in the city, Lolinda.  Listening to the alumni talk about the path they took after Wabash was intriguing.  Many were working in a field in which they had never expected.  As a biology major, I often find myself being narrow-minded and thinking that health graduate school is my only logical path after Wabash.  However, I was assured by multiple alumni that the possibilities after Wabash, regardless of my major, are endless.  We talked with Psychology major, Jonathan Walsh, who now works at Calypso Technologies and Philosophy major, Mike Berry, who now works at Shutterfly.

I will sum up by saying that after this trip, I have never been more proud to be a Wabash man.  When talking with each alumnus, none of whom I had met before, I felt as though I had known the person my entire life.  Each person I met reached out and was willing to help me with anything.  It assured me that even after Wabash, I will still be a Little Giant when any other fellow Wabash man reaches out to me.

By Jackson Schroeder ’15

As part of the Career Services Test Drive Program, I spent a week at the Legal Aid Society of Louisville during winter break.  The Legal Aid Society provides free legal services to people who fall below the poverty line.

During the week, I spent the majority of the time calling previous clients and asking them to complete a client satisfaction survey.  Yearly client satisfaction are done to show the donors of Legal Aid that the practicing attorneys are doing their job and completely satisfying the people.

When I wasn’t doing client satisfaction surveys, I was at the courthouse shadowing the attorneys of the Legal Aid Society.  The first time I went to court was an eye opening experience because the attorney had three domestic violence cases.  While prepping the clients to enter the courtroom, the attorney had to make sure they were ready to answer the judge’s questions clearly and truthfully.  The clients were visibly upset by the fact that they were seeing their alleged attackers for the first time since the incident.

Two of the three cases were continued to a later date with the final case culminating with exciting closing arguments by the two attorneys.  After the Legal Aid attorney won her case and got a domestic violence order against the client’s husband, she told me how the case was very unusual.  In the beginning part of the hearing, the opponent’s attorney was very argumentative and angry with the judge.  I was very surprised by his actions and was later told that he could have gotten a contempt of court charge if he continued in his disruptive manner.  Overall, I was impressed by the attorney’s ability to think on the spot and make solid arguments for her clients.

On my second visit to court, I was able to witness Veteran’s Court, which is a new venture by the state of Kentucky.  The purpose of Veteran’s Court is to make veterans enter a program meant to rehabilitate rather than punish.  As part of the program, the veterans do not spend jail time but have random drug tests and see a psychologist to help treat their PTSD.  The court is structured to provide support to the members who often have unsupportive families or families who do not understand what they have been through.  During the weekly meetings, the judge makes sure to act as a friend and supporter who want to see them succeed.

On my third and final visit to court, I visited Evictions Court.  Prior to entering the courtroom, I was told that Evictions Court is like the fast food of law because each case takes about 10 seconds.  The attorney for the landlord calls the name of the person getting evicted and if they are there, then they come up to face the judge.  The judge asks if a payment was made.  If not, the judge signs the eviction form and the next name is called.  The only arguments against getting evicted are if you have receipts proving you paid or if the landlord did not maintain the housing while one was living there.

Overall, I learned a lot about the Legal Aid Society functions as well as the general court process in domestic violence, veteran, and eviction cases.  The weeklong internship has furthered my interest in law and opportunities to help others within the field of law.  I am especially grateful to Jeff Been for allowing Wabash students to gain experience in the field of public law and also the hospitality he provided.

Editor’s Note: James Jeffries and Alex Amerling provide some timely advice for interns wrapping up their summer. 

Don’t let your resume look like this:

Sales Intern                                                    Summer 2013

Acme Corporation, Saskatchewan

• Initiated Friday Social Hour for team of 13
• Managed workload, even with delayed morning arrivals
• Executed 15 calls per day to family and friends
• Um…some major project in sales, but I forget
• Started 18 performance upgrades; completed 2

Here is Alex’s Advice:

1. Go out with class. This means finish any of those tasks that you just haven’t gotten around to, make sure to clean your work area out, tell your boss where you are on unfinished projects so he/she has the adequate amount of information to finish the project.

2. Write everything you did down. Write down all the new computer programs and equipment you learned to use. And even more importantly write down what you accomplished in detail. Imagine making a presentation of what you accomplished this summer. This allows you to have a great answer in those tough interviews and it will make updating your resume much easier.

3. Thank You’s. Thank everyone who helped you along your way for the summer, both in person and with a thank you card. NEVER underestimate the power of a handwritten thank you card; it can get you a job in the future.

If you have any questions on how to update your resume, write a proper thank you, or anything else to finish up your summer feel free to stop by Career Services or email Scott (crawfors@wabash.edu) or James (jeffriej@wabash.edu).

–Alex Amerling & James Jeffries

Jack Yuan ’14 takes advantage of networking opportunities over Sushi in Chicago with Derrick Yoder ’11 and Brian Mantel ’93

Jack Yuan ’14:  When I was searching for an internship that would leverage my writing and quantitative analysis skills, I was very fortunate to find and to get an internship focusing on consumer finance with Mr. Brian Mantel ’93.  This is the ninth week of my internship, and I have learned more than I expected from my work and my colleagues.

The way this internship works is very unique.  As a virtual internship, my job gives me a lot of flexibility. Different from working at a corporate site, I work at home and meet with my boss twice a week on Skype. The internship reinforces me being accountable for project management.  Other than the Skype conferences, I would travel to Chicago to work in person with my boss on some of the hard projects every two weeks.  While Skype meetings normally take about an hour, in-person meetings often take five to six hours, during which there is a lot of brainstorming and exchanging of ideas.  The place we meet normally has a whole wall of whiteboard, allowing us to put on as many ideas as we can.  Every meeting not only helps me better understand my task but also helps me build a consulting mindset.

My obligations in the first month included reading existing marketing materials, getting to know about America’s retirement facts, and exploring consumer financial needs.  In the early stage of my internship, I got to know about some of the marketing tools and strategies, including Porter’s 5 forces, 4P, and SWOT.  Starting mid-summer, I began to handle two main projects:  benchmarking and income statement generator.  Dealing with these two projects requires a lot of effort in gathering and sorting data.  With the help of Dr. Howland and Dr. Widdows, I was able to process my data faster with appropriate economic theories and statistical tools.

One of the goals of this internship is, and I quote from Mr. Mantel: “getting most of [my] summer.”  Not binding me with pure workloads, Mr. Mantel encourages me to meet as many alumni as I can.  One of the past interns, Derrick Yoder travelled to Chicago during one of our in-person meetings.  My boss then invited him for dinner at a great Sushi restaurant, and we had a great time talking about interesting Wabash experiences, networking skills, and career development.  Such talks then took place between me and many other alumni, from whom Mr. Mantel encouraged me to learn—two weeks ago, I travelled to New York and got a chance to meet and learn from Mr. Sava Kobilarov ’01, Mr. Nick Su ‘12, and Mr. Greg Jania ’93.

This internship is a very valuable experience.  Rather than simply improving professional skill sets, I was able to acquire a diversified experience from my internship, which helped me broaden my horizons and learn how to learn from people.  Words cannot express how grateful I am for the opportunity Mr. Mantel offers, and I would like to thank Dr. Howland and Dr. Widdows for helping me solve some of the problems I encountered at work and Career Services for helping me find this opportunity.