Alexis graduated from Penn State in 2010 with dual majors in Communication Arts & Sciences and International Studies. She currently works as a Senior Content Specialist for the Virginia based, event management software company, Cvent Inc. Recently, she moved to Pennsylvania with her boyfriend and enjoys cooking, painting, and yoga in her free time.
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My journey at Penn State began in the Division of Undergraduate Studies without the foggiest idea of how I wanted to pursue my academic career. I soon stumbled into an introductory CAS class and fell in love with the material. I found the combination of behavioral analysis with targeted messaging to be fascinating and thought provoking.
Through my next three years, I took a variety of classes for my major, studied abroad in Spain, and graduated with a B.S. in CAS and a B.A. in International Studies, picking up new knowledge along each step. As my senior year grew to a close, I found myself overwhelmed with the career paths that I could venture down as a Liberal Arts graduate. Where do I start? What kind of company do I want to work for? What kind of jobs can I apply for? What kinds of companies hire liberal arts graduates? As these questions were swirling through my head, I decided to check out the Career Fair and wound up finding a job that allowed my liberal arts background to shine.
I soon received a job offer for a product consultant with the event management software company, Cvent, Inc., and it gave me the opportunity to apply the skills I learned as an undergraduate. I worked with clients to analyze their questions and communicated a clear strategy to them. I was so excited to apply the skills that I developed in school and see them come to fruition!
After working as a product consultant for about a year, I transitioned into the training and development team where my background and communication skills could really take shape. Now, I analyze our clients’ needs and consequently create video tutorials and training guides to effectively train our clients on how to use our system. As our company continues to rapidly grow, I am confident that my liberal arts education combined with my company training will provide me the opportunity to advance into other departments or management positions.
As many of you are contemplating your future career moves and beginning your job search, take a minute and realize the valuable skills that you’ve acquired as a liberal arts student. You’re receiving a versatile educational foundation and arsenal of skills to do so many different things.
One of your strongest assets as a Liberal Arts student is your communication skillset. You may take what you’ve learned for granted after writing dozens of papers, presenting speeches, and completing group projects, but these tasks will help you stand out from other candidates for future jobs and will be used every day.
In the short time that I’ve been in the work force, I’ve learned that companies are looking for intelligent people who can communicate well and whose goals align with the company– almost everything else can be taught through training.
As you begin your job hunt, keep your communication and analytical skills in mind and embrace your liberal arts education! Best of luck!