BRUNSWICK, Maine — While Bowdoin College was on winter break last week, most of its students were at home with no deadlines, no assignments, and no obligations. There was one exception — the entire sophomore class.
For three days, the second-year students attended a mandatory event known as Sophomore Bootcamp, which features several workshops “aimed at helping them get a head start on mastering the skills necessary for landing an internship or job.” The emphasis is on what’s useful and practical, things like networking with alumni, writing a crisp resume, and getting the most out of employment-oriented social media platforms such as LinkedIn.
“I think that when I was a sophomore I was really scared about networking, writing a resume and cover letters, and stuff like that,” Aidan Philie, a senior who helped mentor sophomores at this year’s event, said. “So I think my main goal here is trying to keep everyone mellow about it and trying to make sure people know it’s not as scary as it seems.”
Trying to land summer internships and jobs after graduation tends to be nerve-wracking for all but the most self-assured. The staffers who run this event want to give students the tools they need to feel more confident. They also want students to explore career options they might have not considered before.
“When I graduated [from college] I didn’t go to my career office — I’ll admit that,” Bethany Walsh, who advises students interested in technology careers, said. “And it was so hard and lonely and stressful in that process of trying to figure out what I wanted to do.”
Walsh aims to smooth out and speed up the process for sophomores so they can spend more time enjoying college and less time stressing out about what will come after it. The message seems to resonate with students.
”Yesterday from our panel of alums I learned that it really doesn’t matter what you think your life is going to look like right after college,” sophomore Elima Terras said. “Your first job probably doesn’t matter. Or your second. And [your] third doesn’t either. It’s really how you choose to build a story around all of these experiences, and really do something that matters to you.”