Students Learn About Entertainment and Marketing Careers

In a campus filled with pre-meds and aspiring investment bankers, any conversation about careers in fields like fashion and entertainment can be refreshing. On Friday, the Office of Career Services joined with AMBLE (Aspiring Minority Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs) to present the fifth annual Spring Career Conference, featuring panelists whose jobs in fashion, media, marketing, and entertainment have taken them off the stereotypical post-Harvard path.

Audience members peppered the panelists with questions about the industries they work in and their reasons for entering these fields. Karin J. Buchholz, a vice president for three New York sports teams—the Knicks, Rangers, and Liberty—who manages the teams' charitable and educational outreach programs, said, "My job combines my love for sports, business, marketing, and kids."

Steven R. Duque '08-'09, who during his time at Harvard made headlines both for co-founding "The Harvard Voice" and for more infamous activities, was also a panelist at the conference.

"If you think you know what you're going to do in five years, then you're wrong. If you think you know what you're going to do in three years, then you're wrong," Duque said. Upon graduation, he spent a year "soul searching" while touring with his band Big Time. Afterward, he settled into his current job in marketing.

After the speeches, students mingled over dinner with panelists, who work for companies such as Estée Lauder, ESPN, People magazine, and Bloomingdale's. Networking seems to be the norm at any career conference—whether those awkward conversations are about finance or fashion.