Treks: A Journey in Building Career Connections and Exploring the Value of Your Degree
Sign up for the next Trek today! Learn details about the San Francisco Bay Area Trek in Handshake. On this special Career Exploration Trek that is for non-engineering students, you’ll visit and explore companies in the high tech industry and beyond, who are looking for students that have passions in the arts, humanities, or social sciences. Apply here: https://stanfordcdc.wufoo.com/forms/q3fm40z1q5jshk/ .PRIORITY DEADLINE is Friday, November 13th at 10 AM, but admissions are rolling.
BY VICTORIA PU, '19, BEAM, STANFORD CAREER EDUCATION
So what can you really do with a Stanford humanities degree? Pursue fields in publishing? Join radio broadcast at NBC? Work public service jobs with non-profit organizations? All of the above and much, much more.
For Mehraan Keval, '18—a current sophomore and self-described “fuzzy” pursuing a double major in Economics and American Studies—it took a BEAM Humanities Career Trek to convince him of his answer: “I’ve always heard that you really can do anything with your major, but I didn’t believe it until I saw it firsthand.”
The Career Trek Keval attended last spring took a group of 20 students on a three-day excursion into the heart of New York City. From chatting with alums at major corporations and touring New York Times offices, to connecting with Penguin Random House recruiters and visiting control rooms at NBC—the students immersed themselves in company culture and gained insight into the inner workings of several industry giants.
“It was pretty cool going into these companies because you hear about NBC, but you don’t actually know what goes on there; you hear about Goldman Sachs and you know they make money,” Keval points out, almost jokingly, “but you don’t know how they make money. So learning about the companies was really a highlight for me. I really enjoyed NBC because they gave us a tour; we saw all the control rooms, all the TV sets.”
But even visiting Jimmy Fallon’s workspace at NBC pales in comparison to the networking connections forged on the trip. Without hesitation, Keval reflects, “I think the most important part of the whole trek was the dinner held in the Stanford in New York office; it was a bunch of Stanford alums who were working in New York, and we had the opportunity to network with them and get to know their stories—to get to know how they went from their humanities degrees at Stanford, to some people owning businesses, some people working at Goldman Sachs. Basically what I think they were trying to get across was that in…many of these companies that are so big, there are so many avenues to pursue that no matter what you major in, you can find a niche for yourself.”
Indeed, many of these multi-faceted companies look to recruit from a wide array of backgrounds—from psychology majors to English students and creative writers. Keval continues, “A lot of these companies are just looking for people who can think critically, and I think that’s what a humanities degree prepares you to do.”
The career trek has changed Keval’s views on his own career prospects as well: “I’m seriously considering finance now, which is something I don’t think I could’ve gone into had I not gone on this trip—in the sense that I thought I needed an accounting degree. But it’s really more about who you are than the technical skills you have, because they can train you.”
But the trek has given Keval more than just a renewed perspective. Treks help students network with corporate recruiters who connect them to internship and employment opportunities. Keval himself is looking to intern with NBC at the Olympics in Brazil next summer.
When asked if he would recommend treks to other skeptical humanities majors nervous about career options and networking, Keval responds with confidence and enthusiasm, “100% I would recommend treks. I feel like the treks are really eye-opening, and I think the treks just take a big weight off your shoulders. Being a humanities major—just know that it’s not a bad thing. You should study what you love, and that’s what’s going to get you the farthest anyway.”
