Career HOPs

“This is the most direct example I’ve seen of FlightPath coming to life,” says Career Development Director Peter Bennett of Hartwick’s inaugural Career HOPs. Bennet led the planning and joined students for both the Albany and Washington, DC experiences. “With so much added value, the HOPs accelerated the process of helping each student get where they want to be.”

Students from a wide range of majors gained invaluable insights and skills from the experience. English major Michael Chefalo ’23 says, “I learned how to market myself.” And Naazea Cooper ’23 says, “I’m definitely going to use the interviewing tips and I’m going to be less difficult on myself.” A sociology and biology double major, she adds, “I learned it’s OK not to know everything right now.”

As a milestone in each student’s FlightPath, the Career HOPs build student-alumni connections and strengthen students’ career readiness. Career Coaches recruit participants and help them prepare. As soon as the buses left campus for the cities, “students came alive with questions and quickly came together as a cohort,” Bennett recalls. “That’s the real magic. That’s the liberal arts.”

Bennett calls the Albany experience “a tremendous example and reminder of the strength of the Hartwick network and the power of in-person conversations. Every student and every graduate was ‘all-in’. Conversations took on a life of their own as students interacted with a variety of alumni from different fields.”

Political science and history double major Hanna Espeli-Allen ’25 learned how to “network more efficiently and create valuable relationships with alumni.” A first-year student, she asked to join ahead of schedule.

Biology major Julie Mazariego ’23 was impressed by the alumni volunteers. “Everyone we met was successful and took their own path in life,” she shares. “My favorite part was talking with Jennifer Lunsford; she was really inspirational.” (Assembly member Jennifer Lunsford ’04, JD, generously hosted the Albany HOP at the Statehouse.)