The History Department’s second event of Spring 2019 was History Career Night, which offered history majors key information about career pathways and opportunities. The event was sponsored by Phi Alpha Theta, the history honors society, and featured three keynote speakers: Patrick Cain, Marie Simoni, and Kyle Greenberg.
Each speaker gave a brief description of their career paths and advice pertinent to achieving their career goals. Patrick Cain graduated from LMU in 1979 as a history major and a member of Phi Alpha Theta. Cain is a currently partner in litigation practice at the firm Smith Gambrell, & Russell, LLP. He emphasized the importance of learning to write in your undergraduate studies, because being able to communicate and craft arguments is a skill that employers value. Marie Simoni graduated from LMU in 2013, also as a history major and member of Phi Alpha Theta. She currently works as a strategist at 72andSunny, an ad agency, doing research and marketing. Marie stated that majoring in history prepared her for this job because it requires a significant amount of reading. The last speaker was Kyle Greenberg, who majored in communications whilst in college and is currently the director of professional development and pre-law advisor of Career and Professional Development (CPD) at LMU. He highlighted the many different services CPD offers, such as bringing over 500 companies to LMU and helping students visit an additional 500 around the world, in order to find jobs and internships.
The Q&A session with the audience addressed a variety of topics. One highlight was a question about balancing prestige, cost and location whilst choosing a law school. Cain answered that prestige is not as relevant and that debt burden should be a chief concern. Instead of focusing on prestige, students should have an understanding of what they really want to do with a law degree. Greenberg emphasized the importance of geographic location. He advised that you should consider the geographic location of the school you attend, because the industry there will play a role in your internship and job opportunities. Other questions included how to make a cover letter and resume stand out to recruiters. Cain stressed the importance of a well-written cover letter and utilizing the resources provided by CPD in order to craft a resume. He stated that an applicant who is well spoken and interesting always stands out. Simoni also commented that in brand management and marketing applicants who are the most outgoing, innately curious, and genuinely excited have a better chance of being hired.
Each speaker at History Career Night offered a unique perspective on how to find a fulfilling path and how the history major helps students develop marketable skills. Hearing firsthand from former history majors and current employers proved to be an invaluable and reassuring experience for current history majors.