From Planning to the Podium: My Experience Sitting on a Panel

If you told me that as a senior in college, I would be sitting on a panel as a student representative from Facebook, I probably would have laughed in your face.

Since my freshman year, I have been working extremely hard to gain viable experience. This has led me to have a different background than your typical Temple student. I have worked with companies such as BET, Seer Interactive, and Facebook. When I decided to intern with the Klein Career Services, my main goal was to bring different perspectives and employers to the students of Klein allowing them to truly see all the opportunities that were available to them.

One of the best parts of working at Klein Career Services is the freedom to develop and execute an idea. When I first began working there, LuAnn Cahn and I began discussing the idea of a panel discussion including professionals from big name companies that would discuss with students their path after they graduated from college. I had the pleasure of contacting people from companies all over the East Coast and chatting about their background. After these brief conversations, we selected four professionals that we believed represented the different degrees available in Klein. One day, Lu Ann bounced around the idea of placing a student on the panel. Next thing I know, my name was being included on the flyer as a student representative.

Sitting on the “I Can Do What? With My Media and Communications Degree panel was one of the highlights of my year. Being able to share my experiences, share advice, and provide encouragement to my peers on such a large scale was amazing. While I was slightly intimidated sitting next to professionals who have been working areas of the communications field for years, it was great to see how valued my personal perspective was. On top of being able to sit on the panel, it was so fulfilling to be able to see my idea come to fruition and truly help people.

Overall, working at Klein Career Services has been so rewarding. I am able to combine some of my passions with the skills I’ve acquired as an advertising major to create events that help students jumpstart their career.