In an effort to gauge how students feel about employment opportunities, representatives from the Notre Dame Career Center held a discussion with the student senate Wednesday evening.
LoriAnn Edinborough, career experiential program manager at the Career Center, said she wanted to hear what students had to say about the Center.
“At the start of the school year, we want to get those thoughts on what you guys are thinking about careers,” Edinborough said. “We’re tapping into you guys here. We don’t want to sway any of your thoughts or opinions on the way we’ve set up the Career Center, so we really just want to hear from you.”
Senate parliamentarian sophomore Monica Montgomery said she thought the Career Center seems more remote than she would like.
“To me it seems like it’s a far-off land, just because I’m on West Quad, so it’s literally very far away,” Montgomery said. “It’s kind of intimidating and far in my mind.”
Sophomore Abby Whalen, the Farley Hall senator, said she felt the Career Center was more tailored to those not in the College of Science.
“For a lot of students, they think it’s helpful just for business or engineering or political science students, but I think it’s harder if you’re a student who’s less inclined to go the internship path, like if you want to go to med school,” Whalen said.
Student body president Corey Robinson echoed Whalen’s concern.
“It feels like it’s targeted for business majors, which makes it harder for science majors for sure,” Robinson said. “So I think it would be good if we matched some people with, maybe, some mentors from the sciences, maybe some that have done med school.”
Sophomore Mary Carroll, the Ryan Hall senator said she also thought it would be better if the Career Center was broader in its goals for students.
“I think it would be helpful if there was some way to focus it less on getting a job or an internship and more on ... the formation of the person,” Carroll said. “I have a lot of friends who still aren’t even sure what their major is and others who already have internships, so I think it would be good to bridge that gap.”
A number of senators expressed anxiety about the career fair and general employment opportunities. Sophomore Sammi Berley, the senator from Pasquerilla East Hall, said many people felt overwhelmed by the job hunt at Notre Dame.
“I think there’s a sense of anxiety there on campus,” Berley said. “Like the sense of risk, and what you’re missing out on if you don’t take a job with one of the ‘big four’ [consulting firms].”
Robinson agreed with Berley, saying he felt Notre Dame students were less inclined to take certain risks on employment opportunities.
“One of the things I’ve seen a lot, career wise, is that students are afraid to take a lot of risks,” Robinson said. “They’re far more likely to take the safe option, and no one is trying to go do something radical, or outside the normal. I think if you could encourage people to take risks, that would be really helpful.”
