Thais Correia ’16
Q. Tell us about a job you did not get or take. How did this shape your career path?
A. The summer between my sophomore and junior years, I had a lot of trouble finding any engineering internships because I needed to be paid but I was undocumented. I ended up finding a teaching position with Girls Who Code, a non-profit, and getting a stipend from Amherst to cover my living costs. The early exposure to such a supportive and stimulating environment was key because it helped me frame my later (bad) experiences in tech as systemic issues, not personal failings or one-off bad actors. Teaching also helped me solidify my own programming skills and gave me a leg up on public speaking and formulating technical content for different learning styles!
Aleszu Bajak ’06
Q. Tell us about a job you did not get or take. How did this shape your career path?
A. In the decade since graduating, there have been countless jobs I didn’t get. That taught me humility. Even with a great story and a great academic background, sometimes you just don’t have the experience employers are looking for. That’s fine. Forge on! Those failures helped me build a thick skin which served me well as a freelance writer who had to get used to rejection.
I did not take an editor position at a major science magazine, which, even if I didn’t know it at the time, would have meant a lot of sacrifices in terms of future opportunities. From that decision, I eventually learned never to pigeonhole myself, but rather to remain broad in the kinds of work I was capable of doing and being recognized for. Pretty soon I was able to build my own job to my specifications. I couldn’t have done that – at least not for a long time – had I followed that strict, editorial trajectory.
Lou Silverman ’81
Q. What is one thing you learned about yourself early in your career?
A. More than one… Hard work, the ability to communicate clearly, and logical thinking are significant assets. I learned that I don’t do politics well. I learned that humor and humility are underrated as leadership tools.
As my career evolved and I gained the opportunity to lead teams and entire organizations, I succeeded in building on the above “learnings” and built organizations that were almost totally apolitical, and where the best answer wins – period. It is remarkable what happens when entire teams enjoy who they work with, are focused on achieving clearly defined organizational success, and team members are NOT worrying about stealing personal credit for a team win.
Ron Espiritu ’06
Q. How do you use your liberal arts education in the work you do today?
A. I think one of the things that I most appreciate about my time at Amherst College was learning how to research and write academic essays. I was pushed to create original arguments, find strong evidence, and back up my claims. The writing process, as well as the dialogical nature of my classes, prepared me for the collaborative nature of being an educator. A significant amount of work as a teacher and teacher leader is communicating with my colleagues and working together to find solutions to academic and social challenges with our students. My time at Amherst prepared me for some of the more challenging and high-stakes conversations that go into shaping school priorities and innovative academic programs. I have also worked to recreate many of these teaching strategies with my students, helping them develop the skills that they will need to succeed in college.
Kimberlee Wyche-Etheridge ’87
Q. What is one thing you learned about yourself early in your career?
A. I learned early in my career that I have to follow my calling and not be afraid to go against the grain or make unpopular decisions if it is the right thing to do.
Jay Gilliam ’04
Q. Tell us about a job you did not get or take. How did this shape your career path?
A. There have been so many jobs that I did not get after applying! When I lived in Japan right after Amherst, I applied for a job at Japanese bank that I didn’t get. If I had received that job, I’m sure I would still be living in Japan as a “expat lifer.”
Most recently, following my time as a presidential appointee at USAID, I applied for another position there that would have allowed me to continue working as a career-service employee. I didn’t get that position but was fortunately offered a job at HRC doing similar work. Now I have a position where I get to advocate for better work at USAID from the outside and build other critical skills and experience that I haven’t before.