Pub Club Takes New York: a Review of the New York Connection Trip with Career Services

Madison Heim-Jinivisian//Undergraduate Students for Publishing Co-President

Each year, Emerson’s Office of Career Services sponsors an event called the New York Connection trip. The trip gives current students an opportunity to join Emerson alumni and friends in New York City for a day full of networking. Working industry professionals offer advice and perspective on living and working in one of the most exciting cities in the world. Career Services takes around 45 undergraduate students to visit different employer sites through different tracks. These tracks are organized by major, so a visual and media arts (VMA) track might consist of a production company or television network and a marketing communications track might consist of an advertising agency or PR firm. Past trips have visited NBC, HBO, and MTV among others. After visiting two different sites around the city, all tracks are brought together to attend a small reception which allows students to speak to alumni in a more casual setting on a one-on-one basis.

While this trip is an incredible opportunity, it is only offered once a year, which means that not every major is included in the event. This year, I attended the event in the Fall and visited HBO, Imaginary Forces, and Time Warner Music. While the track was designed with VMA students in mind, I found the event to be useful, informative, and insightful. I knew right away that this was something writing, literature, and publishing (WLP) students needed to experience, and not every three or four years—every year.

After the trip last semester, I ended up sitting down with Career Services to try to figure out a way we could make this opportunity available to WLP students in 2018. Being the head of a publication and organization on campus, I was in a unique position to represent a large portion of WLP majors. After cycling through a few ideas, battling budget restraints, and many, many emails, Career Services finally came up with a plan. They would partner with Undergraduate Students for Publishing (Pub Club) and Emerson’s chapter of the American Marketing Association to make the trip happen.

On February 9th, 2018, twenty-five members of PubClub had the opportunity to visit Penguin Random House and Bustle, where they spoke to Emerson alumni about their experience in publishing. Students were taught the different departments and positions available for internships and full-time jobs, learned about company culture, and got resume/cover letter dos and don’ts from company recruiters. Additionally, students were able to network with alumni who have worked at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Young & Rubicam advertising company and more, at Spotify’s headquarters. The panel was a great success as students were able to gain multiple perspectives about living and working in New York from generations of graduates, bond over Little Building adventures, and, of course, gush over their favorite organizations on campus.

By collaborating with Career Services, we were able to bring a unique opportunity to our club members, one that we hope can become an annual expedition. We look forward to strengthening our ties to and relationship with Career Services.

If you are interested in joining Undergraduate Students for Publishing, please email bookpubclub@gmail.com for more information.