Waverly Hart
News Editor
This past fall break, numerous College of Wooster students embarked on CityTREKs, (Think, Re/search, Engage, Know) visiting different American cities and learning about possible careers from Wooster alumni.
This year, A.P.E.X. sponsored CityTREKs to three different U.S. cities. Students could choose between Cleveland, Detroit or Chicago, with each city differing in the careers students could explore.
Students who participated in the Detroit CityTREK were more focused on entrepreneurship and business. Brett Woodard, associate director of entrepreneurship and internship, led students on this trip.
“Our Detroit program was designed for Wooster students to explore examples of social enterprise and discover the city’s highly collaborative and socially-oriented entrepreneurial ecosystem, including several organizations which serve as resources for education, acceleration, incubation, funding and work space,” Woodard said.
Students who went to Detroit met with the founders of various organizations, including Detroit is the New Black, Pro:UP and Pizza Plex.
Students who traveled on the Chicago CityTREK were more oriented towards meeting alumni with STEM careers. Participants met many Wooster alumni who had jobs in science and technology, along with seeing what it would be like to live and work in Chicago.
The third CityTREK traveled to Cleveland, and was more generalized than the other trips. Students met with Wooster alumni from various jobs in differing fields.
Ashleigh Best, associate director of career planning, said the CityTREK trips are meant to expose Wooster students to different jobs in various industries.
“Our goals for CityTREK are to provide students the opportunity to learn about a wide variety of career fields and work environments, to provide students the opportunity to connect with alumni [and] to enable students to explore living in a particular city,” Best said.
For Toshiko Tanaka ’19, these goals were realized. Tanaka participated in CityTREK for the first time this past fall break, traveling to Cleveland.
“Honestly … it was an awakening for me. My eyes were opened to some jobs that never really crossed my mind. All this time I was really limiting myself from the multiple opportunities out there,” Tanaka said.
For Best, the highlight of the Cleveland trip was the Black and Gold Dinner. During this dinner, students sat at tables with different alumni and were able to have in-depth conversations about their careers after Wooster.
“Personally, it was nice to see that so many people were flourishing. Just being introduced to prospective jobs and getting a real grasp on the concept and significance of networking was a learning moment for me,” Tanaka said.
Emma Busch ’21 CityTREK-ed to Chicago and had a reaction similar to Tanaka’s.
“I learned a lot about the variety of careers available with different majors, and how a lot of people go into jobs that seem unrelated from their major, but they still use skills from it. And I think it was beneficial to see all the different career options. It was good to see so many alumni with careers they’re passionate about,” Busch said.
Most students who participated in CityTREK shared similar experiences with Tanaka and Busch. Best said many students are already applying for internships at the companies visited during the trip.
“All students were excited about the conversations and connections they made with a large number of alumni. We are happy to see our CityTREK students already back in our offices today preparing application materials. We certainly want to continue this program as we see it as a great collaboration with the Alumni Engagement Office and A.P.E.X. and a best practice for engaging students and meeting their educational needs,” Best said.