Saints Explore Careers with Career Treks

Remember field trips back in school that gave you the opportunity to see professionals like doctors, firefighters and police up close and personal in their work settings? Siena has adapted that concept and is organizing Career Treks to give Saints the opportunity to explore career options and employment opportunities out in the field.

Nine accounting students traveled to UHY's Manhattan office in January; a group of applied physics students visited General Dynamics Missions Systems (GDMS) in Pittsfield, Mass. in February, and a trip is planned for May 13 to Wall Street.

"The students get a site tour and a taste for the organization's culture and there is usually a presentation on different job titles and career paths within the organization," said Ashley Cross, assistant director for external engagement at Siena's MacDonnell Career and Internship Center. "They always meet with individuals from human resources so they can pass along resumes and learn more about the application process. It's a great way for students to get a feel for the industry and organization beyond the classroom and the things you can read online."

A group of Siena alumni who work at UHY's downstate offices had lunch with the students, Cross, and the two faculty members who accompanied them: Elana Isaacson, Ph.D., associate professor and accounting department chair, and Heidi Durkee, MBA, teaching instructor of accounting, to talk about their work with the company.

"My visit to UHY was a great experience and I highly recommend that other Siena students take part in these opportunities through the Career Center," said Jamie Connors '26. "It was a great way to connect professionally with a well-respected accounting firm and to have the benefit of speaking with Siena alumni who work at the firm. It helped me to gain insight into their career paths and opportunities that have been offered to them."

Johnathan Kelly '27 agreed that the UHY site visit was an excellent experience.

"My interaction with the staff and gaining firsthand insight into the daily life of a public accountant has strengthened my desire to pursue this career field," he said. "I look forward to seeing what a future in the accounting world has to offer."

Durkee said if she could use one word to describe attending Career Trek as a faculty member, it would be "proud."

"One of the best parts of the visit was seeing our students connecting with Siena alumni currently working at UHY," she said. "I was proud to see them be confident in networking and asking questions about what a day in the office would look like. Also, seeing everything our alumni have accomplished and the mark they are making in the world was rewarding beyond words. They shared their insights and personal career stories and gave the students valuable and encouraging educational and career advice."

On the General Dynamics trip, seven Siena students met with employees for an hour of 1:1 and 2:1 mentorship to go into more detail about their day-to-day work experience building and repairing components for the U.S. Navy, primarily submarines and surface vessels. Engineering is a career path for many of applied physics majors.

Part of a larger career shadow day, the Siena crew got to stay together to see lab spaces where people were designing or repairing electronic components from subs, working on nuclear safeguards, testing the systems that launch nuclear warheads from the torpedoes, and working on how to keep all these thousands of systems and plans coordinated.

Matt Bellis, Ph.D., professor of physics, said the highlight might have been an accurate simulation of a littoral combat ship's control center, where students got to "drive" a $500 million ship around San Diego Bay.

It was a great experience for the students," said Bellis. "They got to see how engineers in the workforce apply what our majors are learning in their Siena courses. It's a great example of how Ashley and the team at TMCIC are enabling these pathways so our students can be as successful outside of Siena as they are within Siena."