Photos by Maria Stenzel and Jesse Gwilliam
Text by Emily Griffen, executive director of the Loeb Center for Career Exploration and Planning

The first-of-its-kind Sophomore Summit at Amherst was jam-packed with essential career education topics, unique bonding opportunities for the sophomore class, and creative exercises in preparation for the exciting futures that await the class of 2026. 

Also critical to the summit experience? A mammoth dose of alumni networking. The Loeb Center for Career Exploration and Planning team facilitated 300 alumni-student Zoom conversations (in one afternoon!) as well as nine career exploration panels with alumni from education policy, publishing, video production, business, sustainability, health care strategy, consulting, technology, social justice and other fields. 

For a summary of the Summit’s impact, read on… 

Ace Roesch, the keynote speaker at Sophomore Summit, speaks to the students in the Science Center.

How the Liberal Arts “Future-Proof” Your Career

Sophomore Summit participants heard from keynote speaker Anne-Claire “Ace” Roesch ’08 on the topic of “future-proofing your career” with a liberal arts education. Roesch studies and advises on workplace trends and adaptations in her role at Deloitte, leading their Future of Work practice. I had reached out to Roesch in fall 2023 for her perspective on how AI’s impact on work will influence career preparation for students. As Ace and I talked, I saw how bullish she was on the value of the liberal arts to the future of work. Then I started to imagine her delivering her message more broadly to students—and decided she’d be the ideal keynote for the summit. (See Roesch speak about the Sophomore Summit with President Michael A. Elliott in Season 2, Episode 9, of the College’s Between 2 Mammoths video series.) 

Students listen as the keynote speaker for Sophomore Summit, Ace Roesch '08.

Communication Skills, Creativity, Critical Thinking

Roesch emphasized how core liberal arts skills—concise and cogent communication, creativity, leadership and critical thinking—will be more valuable than ever before as AI reshapes the landscape of work. It was a confident and empowering message for sophomores as they navigate the connections between academics and career planning against a backdrop of huge technology-fueled societal change. 

Students participate in a workshop during sophomore summit.

Designing Your Life

The second day of the summit emphasized reflection and provided students a chance to think about their values, hone their sense of purpose and get creative in their thinking. Loeb staff members led “Designing Your Life” sessions with the sophomores, using a framework of design-thinking methodologies originally developed at Stanford University.  

Students attending workshop to help them think ahead to possible career paths.

Your Life: Whiteboards and Legos and More

In between building towers and robots out of the Loeb’s signature primary-colored foam Lego bricks, students discussed questions such as “What is the purpose of work?” They also generated several versions of potential five-year plans—emphasizing the plurality of pathways to a life with reward and purpose. As one sophomore said: “The five-year plan was really eye-opening for me. It made me realize that my goals in life are achievable and allowed me to actually think about my life and what I want to do with it.”

A woman smiles while getting her professional headshot taken.

The LinkedIn Photo Booth

What career development deep dive would be complete without attention to LinkedIn profiles? Thanks to local photographer Leah Martin, every attendee had the opportunity to get professional headshots taken for their profiles on the second day of the summit. Loeb staff also rolled in a garment rack full of blazers in various sizes, and peer leaders stood at the ready with mirrors, lint rollers and words of encouragement. 

Student pose for professional headshots.

 

Students at Sophomore Summit enjoyed food, games and activities in between the program's career workshops and panel discussion.

Not Just Work—Play

 Students personalized exclusive Sophomore Summit tumblers and grabbed grilled cheese sandwiches from local food truck Say Cheese. In the evening of Day 2, the Loeb Center hosted an ice skating party at Orr Rink and brought in a mobile video arcade.

Three alumni panel members speaker to a gathering of students during Sophomore Summit.

In Pursuit of Recruiting

The last day of the summit kicked off with a panel of alumni who have expertise in recruiting early career candidates. Nic Zhou ’10 plays a large role in recruiting analysts for Boston Consulting Group, where he is a managing director and partner. Adrianna Turner ’14 has held several roles leading recruiting and talent functions at start-ups. And Sara Gehrdes ’11, senior talent acquisition partner at TravelPerk, has been a recruiter for major players in the tech industry for over a decade. “The Loeb Center provides spot-on career guidance for students,” Gehrdes said, “but sometimes hearing directly from recruiters who live and breathe hiring can help reinforce the advice. We’ve seen the good, bad and ugly when it comes to interviewing early career candidates and want to do everything we can to help Amherst students avoid the basic pitfalls of interviewing (hint: do your research on the company!) or stand out from a sea of applicants.”  

Students attending Sophomore Summit turn to listen as a member of their class asks a question.

Experience and Connections

Students heard advice from the panelists on how to best convey their skills and experience to employers and how to use Amherst connections to help in their internship and job searches. The topic of cover letters became a controversial flashpoint—many recruiters still care about a well-written cover letter, while some do not even read them. The ultimate fate of this long-running professional norm is sure to be affected by the growing influence of generative AI. 

A panel of alumni speak to Amherst College sophomores during a session on career activism.

The Creativity of the “Fab Three”

I asked Matt McGann, dean of admission and financial aid, to report on one of the alumni panels. Here’s his take: “These three alumni panelists shared how they’ve used creativity and their Amherst educations—including a course on The Beatles—to build meaningful careers with impact. Brad Goldberg ’91 recounted how learning Japanese through Amherst programs helped him in an environment at Microsoft that relied on a language just as foreign to him: computer programming. Julie Ajinkya ’03 told students how her involvement with campus activism provided her with the tools for roles that make an impact on national policy. And in addition to the experience that Kim Karetsky ’99 had in that class on the Fab Four, she recalled how working closely with Professor Catherine Sanderson, in the psychology department, laid the foundations for her work helping leaders and organizations to be their best.”

Students attending Sophomore Summit mingle with staff and alumni at a networking reception at Amherst College.

Networking Away

After three busy days, summit participants celebrated with a reception in the Science Center’s living room. Many of the 30 alumni panelists remained through the evening to spend more time with students and continue conversations that started during the panel discussions. Then the alumni capped off the night with bonding time by the fireplace at the Inn on Boltwood. (Or so we hear.) Thank you, alumni! Thank you, sophomores!