Swimming, soccer, diving, and horseback riding. Carolyn Phillips ’17 has tried them all in pursuit of becoming an Olympic athlete, a dream of hers since childhood. Unfortunately, Phillips admits that those talents never quite took off; so instead, she found an alternative way to get into the Games: her career.

An active member of the Pace Community, Phillips keeps her schedule packed as a volunteer, blogger, and a leader in the Pforzheimer Honors College, where she has served as president of the Honors Council, editor-in-chief of its award-winning newsletter, a peer leader, and a student aide, just to name a few—all while maintaining a 4.0 GPA in political science with a triple minor in history, management, and nonprofit studies. While most students might stop to take a breath after all of that on a day-to-day basis, Phillips continues on to a place where she’s able to combine all of her skills, interests, and passions for a cause she believes in.

Since spring 2015, Phillips has worked at Special Olympics New York, the largest chapter of Special Olympics in North America and the sixth largest in the world. As a development and special projects intern, she helps grow partnerships and support for the chapter’s events and initiatives, and meets inspirational athletes along the way. Thanks to a supervisor there, Phillips had the opportunity this summer to volunteer at the Special Olympics World Games, hosted in the same Los Angeles arena as two other Olympic Games in the past.

Expected to be the largest humanitarian and sports event of 2015, the World Games brought Phillips together with more than 500,000 spectators, athletes, coaches, and volunteers from nearly 170 countries—including First Lady Michelle Obama; Olympians Michael Phelps, Michelle Kwan, Nadia Comăneci, and Greg Louganis; and restauranteur and inspirational speaker Tim Harris for the Opening Ceremony and Flame of Hope cauldron-lighting.

Not surprisingly, Phillips says the Opening Ceremony was one of the most moving experiences of her time there. “It’s kind of perfect that the flame is called the ‘Flame of Hope,’ because everything about Special Olympics is hope-based,” she says. “The fact that the Flame of Hope went into the same place where the 1984 and 1932 Olympics were held, and they lit the same cauldron and had the same torch means that the Special Olympics, the Olympics, and the Paralympics all require the same amount of ability.”

Volunteering as a Fan Zone attendant, Phillips’ responsibilities during the Games included checking in athletes, coaches, and spectator groups, and distributing Special Olympics pins to guests, which is a unique tradition at all Olympic Games. “People bring pins from their home countries or their state and then they trade them at the Games,” she explains.

Stocked with Special Olympics pins from her supervisor in New York, Phillips set out to meet and trade with athletes and fans alike. One of her favorite pins she collected is from the 1996 Athens Olympics, which she received from an Olympic historian who’s been to 15 Games. “I actually went to the 1996 Athens Games; I was one-year-old. My parents remember it and they also have pins from 1996, so that was cool,” she says.

In addition to making meaningful connections with people from across the globe, Phillips had the chance to cheer on familiar faces that she’d seen train and compete in the months leading up to the Games. Her experience came full circle in the Team USA stands as she rooted for Special Olympics New York athletes with strangers who shared her pride and support.

“Volunteering at the Special Olympics World Games changed my life,” she says, “by showing me how big the world really is, how much more I want to do and see, how much I love helping and interacting with people, and how inspiring the human spirit can be.”

Though the Special Olympics World Games have concluded, Phillips’ work and motivation are hardly winding down. She’s already attended and assisted at Special Olympics New York Fall State Games and other regional games through her internship; she has been recognized by the Pace Community as a leader in public service with a Jefferson Award Bronze Medal; and has even met and interviewed Olympic diver Greg Louganis for her blog “The Olympics of Blogs.”

But of all the gold medal experiences Phillips has had since the start of her internship, there’s one more that’s still on the horizon: Rio 2016. With tickets to seven events already, and—you guessed it—a volunteering position secured, Phillips will attend her first Olympic Games since 1996. “I am ready to see what I have dreamed about for so long.”

While most undergraduates come to Pace to jumpstart their careers, Brianna Gentilella ’17, studying for her BFA in Acting, has been a working actor and singer since childhood, boasting a wide range of stage, TV, and film roles. You might have already heard her voice over the past decade; since age nine, Brianna has been the singing and speaking voice of Molly on Nickelodeon’s Bubble Guppies—an animated children’s series featuring the adventures of a group of preschool merpeople in the underwater city of Bubbletucky. “It’s some of my favorite voice work to date,” says Gentilella. For the series’ birthday telephone line, she recited over a thousand children’s names, wishing them happy birthday. “It was a four-and-a-half-hour recording session,” she says, “but it was fun.”

Speaking with her, it’s not hard to see why she would be perfect for roles in children’s series: she has a bright, expressive, bubbly voice that kids would love. It has won her voice work in commercials as the Charmin bear, as well as a spot on the original cast of the Broadway production of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical. At the same time, sounding young can sometimes be an obstacle for an actor—and that’s one of the ways that her time at Pace has helped her develop. “My teachers have been great in helping me transition between my young voice and my adult voice as I move into more mature work,” she explains, crediting mentors such as PPA professors Lester Shane and Grant Kretchik, among others.

Why did she decide to enroll at Pace? Fellow students might be able to relate: part of it was due to her mother’s encouragement. “She convinced me that education is really important,” Gentilella explains. “So I definitely wanted an education along with pursuing my acting career, and Pace allows for me to have both in my life.”

That doesn’t mean it’s always easy for her. Taking 17 to 18 credits per semester, she admits that Pace keeps her very busy, and sometimes a recording session forces her to miss class. Still, she doesn’t mind the hustle. “I love to stay busy and active,” she says. “I’ve learned a lot—like relaxation techniques for nerves, different acting techniques, and better understanding my body. It’s made me much more confident in my own work. It totally pays off in the end.”

She continues to do all kinds of work while earning her degree, including roles in Pace productions such as the recent Runaways at the Schaeberle Theater. “It was great,” she says. “I got to work with a lot of musical theater majors, and they were fun. I love meeting new people, whether they’re MFA, BA, musical theater, dance, all of that.” Recently she even sang the National Anthem at a Knicks game. She recalls practicing in the dressing room, in the car on the way to the stadium, and into a live mic while the players were warming up on the court. “It’s a difficult three-octave song, and I’d never done anything like it before. But it was really fun. Everyone was really encouraging, and it was thrilling. I’d love to do it again.”

What does the future hold for Gentilella? After graduation, she plans to continue to pursue her acting career. “Film, TV, stage—all that jazz,” she says. “Hopefully, I’ll be shooting on a TV show or getting back to Broadway.” For now, however, she sees herself being cast in more Pace productions and refining her abilities as an actor. “My teachers are challenging me to find my own voice. There’s a growing maturity that you experience in college, and Pace is a great place for young actors to explore, mature, and experiment.”

From leading the Student Government Association as executive president to completing a rigorous management program at Harvard Business School, Marc Rinosa ’17 lives by the mission Pace University prides itself on—Opportunitas.

Pace has taught me that Opportunitas—opportunity for all—means to never discount yourself,” Rinosa says. “Know that you are worth it and you can really achieve anything you set your mind to. It doesn’t matter where you are from or who you are—what matters is what you bring to the table and believing in what you've brought.”

When the business economics major arrived on the bustling New York City Campus in 2013, he said he was immediately drawn to the contagious energy of students exploring their passions—in Rinosa’s case, his commitment to landing a career in management consulting.

After doing research on how he could best prepare himself for achieving his dream job, Rinosa realized many management consulting companies did not recruit at Pace, but rather at Ivy League and other prestigious universities.

“At the time, I was hurt and I couldn't believe it, but I thought instead of complaining about it, I'm going to do something about it,” he says. “I want to not only be one of the first undergraduates to work at a consulting firm from Pace, but I also want to bring students with me and increase the reputation of recruits not necessarily coming from Ivy League or so called ‘elite’ schools.”

He took it upon himself to start on the path toward consulting by getting involved on campus and being directly responsible for representing student interests and solving campus issues. He joined the NYC Campus Student Government Association (SGA) during his sophomore year, quickly climbing the ranks from an adviser on the Budget Allocations Committee (BAC), to the student body president of the Dyson College of the Arts and Sciences, to his current position of executive president of SGA.

As executive president, he sits on several larger University committees with faculty and members of the Board of Trustees including the New York City Cabinet that discusses the state of the NYC Campus; the Presidential Search Committee that is searching for the next University president, and the New York City Master Plan Committee overseeing the future of on-campus improvements.

In addition to student government, Rinosa is active in the LGBTQA and Social Justice Center and Career Services, trying to establish recruitment channels for underrepresented minorities and groups on campus.

“I've had the great privilege of being one of the first students to attend many diversity conferences in places like Chicago and New York,” Rinosa says. “They connect you with recruiters that are specifically looking for a way to cast a net on a diverse pool of applicants. My goal is to increase visibility and accessibility to help as many students as possible achieve their dreams just as I have.”

At his internship at NERA Economic Consulting over the summer, Rinosa says he was surrounded by students who attended universities such as Yale, Swarthmore, and Barnard, and he was just as successful as they were.

“I realized at NERA that it doesn’t really matter what school you went to—what matters is how motivated you are,” he says. “I'm challenging that convention that you have to come from a conventional background—that you have to be a certain race, gender, or sexual orientation. I'm trying to redefine that you don't have to be from a cookie-cutter background, because an organization performs better when its members are diverse.”

Rinosa credits a large part of his self-confidence to his participation in the Summer Venture in Management Program that he attended at Harvard Business School. In what he calls a “life-changing” experience, he worked on 14 case discussions and learned from a professor who taught LL Cool J and Channing Tatum, and personally knows Beyoncé. He says one of the biggest highlights of his experience was when another professor surprised the class with an executive from Nickelodeon—the subject of one cases he had read the night before.

“No one raises their hand at Harvard Business School—they cold call you in class,” Rinosa says. “I was extremely anxious the night before and nervous during the first class, but by the end of the week I was eager to participate and continue the conversation. It was a crash course on confidence and taught me that my opinion mattered most when I actually believed it myself.”

While maintaining his recruitment strategies and extracurricular activities, Rinosa says he is applying to and interviewing with consulting firms located across the country, from his hometown of Houston, Texas, to San Francisco, and other destinations in between.

While maintaining his recruitment strategies and extracurricular activities, Rinosa says he is interviewing with consulting firms located across the country from his hometown of Houston, Texas and beyond, and he has already received his first offer.

“My objective is to leave Pace knowing that I have accomplished everything I’ve wanted to, closed all the loops with people I’ve met, and left a legacy with students in the same vision of Opportunitas and this year’s Convocation theme of Get Grit—that you have to stay persistent and determined to get through any obstacle to achieve your goals and dreams.”

“School doesn’t come easy to me, but I put a lot of work and effort into it,” Kristin Stein ’15, ’17 admits. An ambitious Pforzheimer Honors College student, she transferred to Pace during her junior year after attending two other schools that lacked the resources and support she was looking for.

Since enrolling at Pace, Stein has graduated with a BA in Communications and is now pursuing an MA in Media and Communication Arts, won a Pace Pride Award for Most Outstanding Transfer Student of the Year, has conducted and published research—twice, studied abroad, interned at MTV, and speaks with prospective students interested in the Honors College. At the core of her accomplishments is the support system she’s established at the University. One of those main supporters is Assistant Professor of Media and Communication Arts Alvarez Ziek.

“I would say he’s my mentor right now and he’s helped me a lot. He’s the one that pushed me to get into the Honors College and opened doors for me for different scholarships, and made me aware of what Pace really has to offer. Not a lot of people take that extra step,” she says.

Together, Stein and Ziek conducted research on the relationship between celebrity and philanthropy, which she submitted to the annual Mid-Atlantic Popular/American Culture Association Conference. Currently she is conducting her own research about how the media portrays the New York Police Department (NYPD) versus how the community they serve actually perceives them. Once her research is complete, she will submit her findings to the 2016 New York State Communication Association Conference.

In addition to her research in entertainment, Stein also had the chance see and walk the red carpet through her dream PR internship at MTV—thanks in part to Pace connections, but also to her refusal to accept “No” as an answer. Originally rejected from the position due to lack of experience, she took to LinkedIn and followed a trail from her Pace alumnus brother, to his Pace alumnus friend, to their friend at Viacom. From there, she was able to wedge the door open and eventually found herself directing media on the red carpet.

But of all her experiences at Pace so far, standing among the top entertainers and media outlets in her field is a close second to the life-changing opportunity she had studying abroad in Italy for three weeks. “It was so great to not have a typical classroom to learn about religion and the history of Rome—instead we walked the streets. When [the professor] would talk about a location, there we were—right there in the middle of the Coliseum. To have such a hands-on experience and to be thrown into a culture is something that not many people get to experience in their life,” she says.

Having achieved so much at Pace during her few years after transferring, it may surprise you that Stein isn’t exactly sure what she wants to do in the future—though PhD studies are a possibility—but what might not surprise you is why. “I feel like now that I’ve been open to so many opportunities…now I see that there are so many things that anyone can really do.”

She encourages students to go after those opportunities as she has—by knocking on doors until they open. “Not to be corny, but everyone always says ‘This door closes so another can open,’ but I truly believe that doors close to see if you really want it—to see who can open that door.”

Maybe you’ve seen him (or better yet, followed the delicious scent of Korean barbecue to his door) in Fulton Hall, where he’s a resident adviser; or maybe you’ve seen him around campus as an Orientation leader, as vice president of the Lubin School of Business, or editorial director and founder of Spoon University (SpoonU) at Pace. But where Jaeseo (James) Park ’17 really wants you to see him is on your television screen.

An arts and entertainment management and qualitative business analysis double major, Park lets off the steam of his business studies and busy schedule by pursuing his passion for cooking and dream of becoming a television food personality. Park creates and stars in his own food shows Cooking My Feelings and Eating My Feelings on YouTube, which he films right from his dorm.

In fact, Park says that becoming a resident adviser in Fulton Hall was a turning point for his cooking and the inspiration for his shows. When he was assigned to live and work in Fulton Hall (a primarily upperclassman building) as a sophomore, he found himself just a bit out of place.

“I was super lonely and didn’t know what to do,” he jokes. “So that’s how I kind of got into this whole cooking thing, and that’s how I relieved my stress and entertained myself. I didn’t know cooking could be therapeutic in a way. I didn’t know this little hobby could turn into my passion and, hopefully, a future career.”

Park’s shows are a unique blend of cooking, education about Korean foods and culture, and humor, all seasoned with, well, feelings. Cooking My Feelings focuses on cooking Korean-inspired dishes like soy sauce pasta and bibimbap, while Eating My Feelings invites viewers to dine with Park as he shares personal stories or takes on food challenges, like the Korean spicy noodle challenge.

With no formal training in the kitchen, Park considers the Food Network and the Internet his culinary tutors. As for filming and editing videos, Park admits that’s a different story. His first episode of Cooking My Feelings, only four minutes in length, took him eight hours to edit. But in the end, it’s worth it to share his work on YouTube. “What got my attention about YouTube is that you can really speak up and be an influencer through this platform,” he says. “I wanted to share my Korean roots and Korean recipes with people who wanted to know about me and my cooking styles.”

When he’s not serving up some omurice or tofu for his YouTube viewers, James Park is focused on putting his double major to use through real world experience. He’s currently interning at Eat In Chef as an operations apprentice and business development support. He’s also recently started a Pace University chapter of SpoonU, an online resource for college students by college students to navigate food and restaurants near and on campus, with original content written and produced by Park and his dedicated team of Pace foodies.

While he still has plenty of time at Pace to continue making videos from the comfort of his dorm, Park has his eye on the next chapter, which could involve culinary school. “As soon as I graduate, I want to experience the whole food media industry with my quantitative business analysis major in the arts and entertainment management field. That’s how I’m planning to combine my majors for my future job, but I still have the big picture of my goal to share my life stories through my cooking good foods.”

For the last three years, Vinona Rugova ’17 has been a resident assistant on the Pleasantville Campus, and also served as general manager of Pace Connect, a student-run business that is part of our Center for Student Enterprise. This summer, she was as a human resources intern at GroupM in New York City.

Where are you currently interning?
I am currently interning at GroupM, the world’s largest media investment company, as a Human Resources Intern in their NY office.

What have you been working on at your internship? Has it sparked an interest in a career/area of study you hadn’t already thought about? Or has it confirmed that you are on the right path?
Interning at GroupM has been such a fulfilling experience thus far. As an HR intern, I communicate with global partners on a near daily basis. I work heavily with reporting in Excel, and in doing so I have sharpened my Excel skills. Working alongside the Human Resources Director has given me the inside view into how to manage people effectively. I am currently working on a social media recruiting project with other HR interns, with a goal of boosting awareness of GroupM and the abundant opportunities available for new college graduates. I also get to attend many Lunch and Learn events regarding media and media investment, which tie into my major. I have always enjoyed Human Resources and the aspect of building relationships with staff, this internship has helped me experience HR on a grand scale.

Do you believe your internship experience has helped to prepare you for your future?
This internship has prepared me in many ways. I feel more prepared for a 9 to 5 scheduled job. I also feel so well versed in Excel now, which can be a major aspect of any position. This internship even helped me get to know my way around the New York City better. I have never spent so much time in NYC like I am now. Overall I feel like a more confident professional.

Any advice for other Lubin students looking for internships? What Pace resources have you used to help you, and would you recommend them to other students?
My advice would be to really put yourself out there. Attend as many company information sessions as you can and network while you are there. Most importantly, meet with career counselors at Career Services. I am very grateful for Bless Vaidian the Director of Career Services on the Pleasantville Campus! Ever since I walked into her office my freshman year, she has always been willing to help me. GroupM and the other agencies within the parent company WPP have a lot to offer, I encourage people to do some research and apply to positions within this prestigious company.

In a few sentences, describe the best thing about your internship.
One of the best things about my internship is that my boss is so caring and organized, it helps to have a great relationship with her. Another big plus is that the dress code is business casual in the NYC offices. The company really allows people to be creative and be themselves, which in turn makes for a more pleasant and comfortable work environment.

As the old adage goes, there is no better teacher than experience. Some notable professors may be inclined to disagree with that maxim, but Henry Snyder ’17, a nursing major in the College of Health Professions, has cannily put himself in a position to get the best of both worlds.

“[Pace] has totally exceeded my expectations,” says Snyder. “I’ve been in four different clinical settings already in the last two years. I’ve done everything in those from providing care to patients who are older, patients with psychiatric disabilities, patients in burn units, trauma, ICU…”

Snyder, a resident of the Westchester Campus, has leveraged the skills he’s acquired in the classroom and clinical settings to land a part-time job at a nearby Doctors Express Urgent Care facility—where he’s been able to apply his skills to both practical and real situations that one can’t necessarily learn anywhere else. He notes that there have been some situations that he hadn’t previously foreseen, that, thanks to the position and practical experience, he is now much more equipped to handle.

Snyder has also witnessed some of the larger realities of American health care, and, like millions of professionals who work in the industry, has been put in a unique position to evaluate and affirm his own personal ideologies.

“It’s showed me the benefits of health care, and also the hardships of working with health care. Asking people for a visit out of pocket—I still have to be able to turn them away. That’s really difficult for me. I believe in health care for everybody, turning people away in that situation has shown me how far we have to go with health care.”

Out of the classroom, Snyder is certainly making the most of his time as a Setter. In addition to serving as a second-year resident assistant in Pleasantville’s Alumni Hall, Snyder is a member of Student Nurses at Pace (SNAP), has played an integral role in the continued successes of the Pace4Kids Dance Marathon, is the vice president of Pi Lambda Phi fraternity, and works as the student coordinator of the tour guides at the Welcome Center.

As for the future? Although the Pace Community will deeply miss Snyder when he moves on to the next phase of his promising career, his experiences as a Setter have definitely helped him gain a greater understanding of what it takes to succeed in nursing—and have helped him figure out the particular path he would like to pursue after graduation.

“As of now, I’m looking into two different fields. Neo-natal—care of infants and premature babies—and I’m also looking into operating rooms specializing in pediatric patients.”

When asked how they would describe their Pace experience, nursing majors Katie and Kimberly Mitts ’17 had a few words come to mind when reflecting on four years of a rigorous and rewarding program combined with their academic and extracurricular accomplishments at Pace—amazing, challenging, worthwhile, and eye-opening.

The twins, who are passionate about helping others and learning as much as they can about nursing, stepped onto Pace’s Pleasantville Campus in 2012 eager to pursue the careers of which they had always dreamed.

“Pace is close to our home in Rockland County, New York, but far enough away that we could experience college life, and when we looked at various nursing programs, this was the only one that has clinicals starting during sophomore year,” Katie says.

Although the sisters knew they would be embarking on a challenging academic program, they wanted to get involved on the Pleasantville Campus and meet new people through extracurricular activities and organizations.

The sisters jumped into Greek life and joined sororities—Phi Sigma Sigma for Katie and Alpha Lambda Sigma for Kimberly—and they both were a part of Pace’s cheerleading team during their first and second years.

“Being a cheerleader was especially fun in college,” Kimberly says. “It challenges yourself in different ways from high school cheerleading, and it was a great way to get out, meet people, and set yourself on the right path.”

Their path to becoming nurses was something the pair set out upon at a young age. At 14, the Mitts sisters joined their local ambulance’s youth corps within the Nanuet Community Ambulance Corps, earning basic certifications, assisting EMTs and paramedics on emergency calls, and improving patient care skills. The two are still active in the corps and have served several positions over the years including Senior Corps members and Katie as the Lieutenant of Communications from May 2015 to May 2016.

“We joined our local ambulance core because we knew we wanted to do medicine,” Katie says. “I think that opened our eyes and showed us what the nurses actually do, and we enjoyed learning that and being able to work with them.”

Currently in their final semester of the nursing program, the duo says they are so grateful for the education they have received through lessons, clinicals, innovative learning experiences in the classroom, and much more.

“In the nursing program, it has been a great honor to make it as far as we have,” Kim says. “We have seen our class go from 150 students to 60 because it is so challenging.”

In the nursing program, Katie and Kimberly have access to cutting-edge technology in the Clinical Education Labs that allow students to partake in simulations, which expose them to a range of scenarios so they know exactly what to do when faced with these situations in real life. The labs enable students to practice skills on human patient simulators, familiarize themselves with electronic medical records, and prepare medications using computerized systems.

“The simulation equipment we use is the most amazing I have ever seen,” Kimberly says.

She says the nursing students listen to the patients’ lungs and differentiate the sounds they hear, they learn how to give injections, and they have to pass validations while talking to the patients, among many other experiences.

“It was a lot of fun, and the human patient simulators are great because they can adapt in any way,” Kimberly says. “I walk in one week and one is pregnant and you have to deal with that scenario. Just seeing those simulations gets you comfortable being in a hospital setting.”

The Mittses say one of their greatest takeaways over the past few years has been understanding and developing better time management skills, spending 12 hour days studying in the library, listening to previous lectures, reviewing hundreds of flashcards, and teaching themselves what they need to do to in order to become better nurses.

“Before, I would procrastinate, but this program and this University has taught me how to properly time manage and how to balance everything including your social life,” Katie says. “Being able to say that we made it through the nursing program, balanced everything, and were not so engrossed in our work that we didn’t lose out on life is a great accomplishment.”

Having each other to lean on was especially important for the sisters, as they relied on each other and pushed one another to work their hardest. They also credit their success to help from their professors, who were always willing to answer any questions, and support from their grandparents Shirley and Joe, their father Tim and mother Tammy, and their boyfriends Matt and Erich who kept the sisters going when it was the toughest.

Although Katie and Kimberly do not plan on working together after they graduate—Katie wants to work in the suburbs and Kimberly wants to get a taste of city life—the two know they always have a special bond and can rely on each other with any questions or concerns they encounter.

“I’m going to miss Pace—and it will be different once we graduate—but I feel comfortable saying that once I leave, I can say the University has done me well,” Katie says. “I am proud I can add to that number of graduates who are successful from Pace.”

“I noticed that at Pace University, I have been setting higher goals. When I graduate, I don’t want just a job, I want the best of the best.” Shahzaib Khan ’17 is a firm believer that good things come to those who work hard and push themselves. At Pace, the public accounting major has secured prestigious internships at AXA Advisors, Deutsche Bank, Deloitte, Nasdaq, and J.P. Morgan; gained leadership experience through Beta Alpha Psi; participated and placed in a variety of accounting-related competitions; and developed the skills needed to succeed in his industry.

“I wanted a program that helped with the fundamentals of accounting but at the same time offered you real work experience. [Pace] does that,” says Khan. “When I graduate, not only will I have the knowledge in accounting, but also the first-hand work experience that will make me stand out from other candidates.”

As a candidate in the Lubin School of Business’ five-year combined BBA/MBA in Public Accounting program, Khan says Pace is placing him a step ahead in reaching his goal of becoming a CEO of a major accounting firm in Dubai.

“The professors are really helpful both inside and outside the classroom,” Khan says. “They want you to succeed and shine, and they advise you about upcoming opportunities and help you become a stronger candidate for jobs.”

Since his freshman year, Khan tapped into several resources available at Pace including Career Services and academic business honor society Beta Alpha Psi, which provided him with unmatched networking opportunities, internships, and opportunities to build his resume.

In Beta Alpha Psi, Khan served on the committee of competitions and was a chair of alumni relations, participated in community service events, and presented at the Best Practice Regional Competition where he won third place after collectively allocating more than 400 hours to create a sense of community and exchange ideas to add value to the chapter.

Through Career Services, Khan secured his tax internship at Nasdaq and had the opportunity to work with and learn from executives and tax professionals in various departments.

“I learned that to be successful and to grow professionally, hard work and having a passion for your work are extremely important,” he says. “If you plan on doing something you love and you have a desire for it, you will accomplish more goals and be happy at the end of the day.”

Khan is passionate about being as well-rounded as possible, having participated in many competitions such as PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) xACT Case Competition, KPMG Gold Challenge Competition, EY Forensic Case Competition, and Beta Alphs Psi’s Good vs. Bad Business Ethics Competition.

This winter, he spent 10 days in Singapore and India as part of a travel finance course that focused on venture capital and private equity markets in South Asia, as well as financial innovation.

“We live in a time where you can have a 4.0 GPA with two degrees and still be jobless after college. Why? Because recruiters and firms want to see your resume and want you see what have you been up to and your experience,” says Khan. “They want a person who is well-rounded—someone who has been interning, has extracurricular activities, strong leadership skills, and is confident. This in fact is all possible for you because of Lubin, Career Services, and Beta Alpha Psi.”

Rachel Krawsek ’17, a recent digital cinema and filmmaking graduate, is well-versed in the world of television. During her time at Pace, she was a TV Land program and media planning intern for Viacom and also wrapped up an exciting internship at Al Roker Entertainment, which has produced digital programming for top cable networks including Food Network, Lifetime, Discovery Channel, and more. After graduation, she landed a job as a Production Assistant at Madison Square Garden Networks. Learn more about her biggest takeaways from her internship at Al Roker Entertainment and how it prepared her to conquer the production field.

Can you tell me about your internship at Al Roker Entertainment, what your role was, what your duties were, and the duration of time you interned for?
My internship at Al Roker was a great learning experience for me. I was a production intern who acted as a production assistant for local shoots by setting up equipment, operated several cameras for live broadcasts, organized footage to allow editors to find all necessary clips, transcribe and log footage for producers and editors in a word document, and researched products and companies. I was there from mid-September to mid-November.

How did you obtain this internship?
I obtained this internship through Pace’s internship and job database, Handshake. Of course, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the help of my career counselor, Nicole Catalfamo.

What was one of the coolest or most memorable things you did at the internship?
One of the coolest and most memorable things I did at Roker Entertainment was when I got to be behind the camera for a live shoot. It was nerve-wracking but rewarding. I loved being able to apply what I learned in class in the real world.

What was the most valuable thing you learned from the internship?
The most valuable thing I learned from my internship was if you don’t succeed, try and try again. I was asked to run a lot of errands and many times I did not know where I was going. It was a learning experience trying to navigate Manhattan. Something as simple as being trusted to run errands led to being trusted for other opportunities.

How has this internship shaped you for the future?
This internship has shaped me for the future by preparing me for working in the production field. I got to see what it was like to build a project from the ground up—see it on paper and then come to life on screen. I also learned what it is like to work in a company with many different kinds of people. As a part of working with others, you have to learn that everyone else learns differently. The more flexible you can be, the better.

What is one piece of advice you would give to a student who aspires to complete an internship like yours?
Advice I would give to a student who wants to get the most out of their internship would be to ask a lot of questions. You never know who will need help and it looks very proactive on your part if you step in and try to help. Also, be mindful that you never know who you’re talking to. Treat everyone with the same great attitude.

Anything else you’d like to share?
Even if you don’t like a task your internship gives you, have a great attitude. These people are going to be giving you recommendations for your next job or internship and you want them to have nothing but nice things to say about you. Be positive, and be someone that people want to work with.