Sanjana Kumbhani
Features Editor
For a lot of college students, one of our biggest fears is the question, “So what happens after graduation?” It’s important for us to start thinking about what we plan to do with our lives, especially our career and graduate school opportunities. Another vital component of this plan is location — where we want to settle or at least spend a few years working. For this reason, APEX launched a fall break program this year, called City Trek Cleveland, with two primary aims: one, to provide students with a professional development experience, and two, to expose students to what it may be like to live and work in Cleveland and introduce them to what the city has to offer in terms of job opportunities, entertainment and beauty.
This two-and-a-half day program started off with a short preparatory session advising students on the itinerary of the program and what to expect. The next day, the group drove to Cleveland and visited the offices of many large companies such as Progressive Insurance, Quicken Loans, Thunder::tech and some small ones too, like Ohio City Farm and the Market Garden Brewery. Most of the visits were possible because of alumni who work at or have previously worked with these companies. The students had the chance to personally interact with the employees and witness the activities of the companies. For example, at the brewery they were shown how the beer was made. The following day, each student had the chance to shadow at one of the 10 different companies. They even had the opportunity to attend a reception with Judge Solomon Oliver ’68, a federal court judge. The group stayed in Ohio City at the Cleveland Hostel.
“The success of the program was overwhelmingly fantastic. The students were great and went with the flow, and our hosts were brilliant,” said Ryan Ozar, program facilitator.
Part of the experience included a scavenger hunt in downtown Cleveland, a visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a drive through the affluent and poor parts of the city to give students a feel for disparities within Cleveland.
“My favorite part was really getting to see parts of Cleveland I had never seen before. Until this trip, my interaction with Cleveland was basically the airport and a Thai restaurant, but City Trek really showed me Cleveland as a booming city with a lot to offer, especially to recent grads looking for jobs and a place that isn’t exorbitant. I loved the Ohio City neighborhood — reminds me a lot of Soho,” said Kanika Issar ’15.