Meet Gavin Li, a second year UC Berkeley student as well as a member of Mission Graduates’ Cohort 5. He is kicking off our College Connect blog series with a great piece on Career Week!
Last week was Career Week at Mission Graduates, and it was full of activities designed to help College Connect students figure out just what in the world we want to do with our lives. The activities consisted of panels of professionals, tours of startup tech companies, and a career compatibility test. This week was helpful because I personally struggle with what I want to do, and in what direction I want to go. The week opened my mind to new things and gave me some great advice.
On Monday and Wednesday there were two panels where we were able to ask professionals questions regarding their career path. These panels were insightful because all the panelist had different backgrounds and different professions. We were able to speak to the adults one-on-one which allowed us to further pick their brains.
The two main messages that I got out of the panels were to take time to explore different career possibilities, and to create and maintain a strong social sphere. Many of the panelist spoke about how it’s important to find something to truly be passionate about because that will lead to happiness, and, even though that sounds a little corny, I completely agree. The second point really hit home because you never know when a friend of a friend, or a professor’s colleague might know of an opportunity, unless you are keeping up with your network.
On Thursday I was lucky enough to be a part of office tours of two different startup tech companies, Uversity and Asana. At Uversity I spoke with the Senior Enrollment Consultant how your major doesn’t matter much, but experience and being a well-rounded person does. That relieved some pressure for me because I always thought that a major is a crucial part in determining what career to pursue.
During the tour of Asana I felt truly immersed in the startup environment. There were a bunch of people working on computers by themselves, in groups, and in offices. They had their own cafeteria with chefs, a pantry full of snacks, and even their own yoga room. After the two tours I told College Success Manager Jill Marinelli that I could see myself being a part of a startup company, and that’s definitely something I never thought I would say.
The last day of Career Week ended with a workshop led by Jill where we explored careers that best fit our personalities. Afterwards we went online to look up information on prospective careers. Doing that helped me get a sense of what sector I might want to work in. For example, I know I want to work with people within a company, and I also want to help people in the community.
All in all Career Week was a great success. It was full of information and advice that I will keep in the back of my mind as I go on my own journey to discover what I want to do with my life.
-Gavin Li, Cohort 5