Written by Jonathan Chalmers, Career Engagement Specialist:
After just a month on the job with Ithaca College, I had the pleasure to make the trip to New York City on Thursday, March 31st, with fifteen School of Business students and faculty members Ed Catto, Xinxin Li, and Chee Ng. After checking in at the Belvedere Hotel, our first stop was downtown at Maven Clinic, where Ithaca College alum Amanda Raines, Senior Director for Demand Generation, gave us a tour of Maven’s brand-new office on Varick Ave. Amanda shared her career journey to business-to-business sale and talked about Maven’s mission to provide healthcare resources to women and growing families. Our next stop was Times Square, where IC alum Taylor Varga of Times Square Alliance, the non-profit organization originally founded as a business improvement district for the neighborhood at the crossroads of the world, introduced us to Vice President for Operations Damian Santucci. Taylor gave us a guided tour of Times Square and explained how Times Square Alliance creates a welcoming experience for millions of visitors each year, leading up to the world’s biggest party on New Year’s Eve.
On Friday, we started the day at Bloomberg’s headquarters on Lexington Ave. We were given a tour of the building from top to bottom, including broadcast studios, training rooms from across the globe, and all the snack bars and fish tanks in between. Barnave Desruisseaux, account manager for Ithaca College, talked about how he builds relationships with his clients and our tour guides Christopher and Rachel patiently answered every question. Our final stop was in the Flatiron District at Consolidated Carpet, where CEO and President David T. Meberg talked about his time at Ithaca College, the classes and experiences he found most valuable, and treated us to an amazing lunch. David, along with Lynn Varisano Wallman and Maureen Droste, talked about Consolidated Carpets operations and teased exciting news to come.
Throughout the experience, our fifteen students asked thoughtful questions and drew meaningful connections from the classroom. I truly enjoyed getting the know them on the trip and look forward to our accounting and finance focused trip this fall!
