Career, Culture, and Community - Summer 2025
Section outline
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Values that guide your work and life. Communicating professionally. Introduction to informational interviewing.
Read:
You Need a Manifesto Chapter 1 (Commence) and Chapter 2 (Consider)
How to Ask for an Informational Interview (and Get a “Yes”) (2024). The Muse.
5 Questions to Ask During an “Informational Interview” (2021). Harvard Business Review.
Write:
(Sun) Reflective journal #1
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Your goals for this internship. Biases that shape us. Working with people who are different from me.
Read:
You Need a Manifesto Chapter 3 (Collect)
How to Write Successful Internship Goals (2025). Indeed.
Write:
(Sun) Reflective journal #2
(Mon) In preparation for setting goals for your internship, respond to the following questions:
1) What technical skills do you want to build through your internship?
2) What background knowledge would help you perform better?
3) What soft skills (i.e., interpersonal skills) would help you in this work?
4) Who are two people at your internship that you’d like to know better?
(Mon) Informational interview plan: Submit a paragraph explaining who you will interview for your informational interview and why you would like to interview them (250 words).
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What kinds of work do you find most meaningful? How important should work be as a source of meaning in your life?
Guest speaker: Bailey Dunn Philips (She/They), Higher Educational Administrator and Student Advocate, Small Business Owner/Operator, Permaculturist, and Mom
Read:
Callings: The purpose and passion of work, by Dave Isay (2016). (Select and read 10 conversations from this book.)
Write:
(Sun) Reflective journal #3
(Mon) (1) List the 10 conversations you read (name and career from the table of contents). (2) What takeaways stand out to you about what meaningful work looks like? (250 words)
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What strengths do you bring to the table? What styles of leadership do you admire?
Complete:
Take the CliftonStrengths Assessment, using the provided access code.
Submit:
(Sun) Reflective journal #4
(Mon) Target job opening and description: Submit the job description of the position you have identified (copy and paste it into a document), along with an explanation of why you are interested in the position and why you are a strong candidate (250 words beyond the job description).
(Mon) After taking the CliftonStrengths Assessment with the provided access code, read about the five strengths the assessment identified for you and write a reflection responding to these results. How have these strengths have been part of your life in the past (if they have)? Where do you see them showing up this summer (if you do)? As you go through your life, how do you think such strengths might help you in the future? (250 words)
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Telling the story that gets you the job. Distilling your pitch.
Read:
You Need a Manifesto Chapter 4 (Curate)
How to Write a Cover Letter: Your Full Guide (with Tips and Examples) (2025). The Muse.
How To Make a Comprehensive Resume (With Examples) (2025). Indeed.
How to Write a Resume That Stands Out. Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
Submit:
(Sun) Reflective journal #5
(Mon) Community life self-reflection and assessment: Submit completed responses to the questions listed here and sign up for a 1:1 meeting with Ryan.
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Friday - Sunday, July 11-13: WCSC Retreat in West Virginia -
Balancing our work with caring for our families, friends, and ourselves. Figuring out what’s next after the unexpected.
Guest speaker: Bianca Ward
Submit:
(Sun) Reflective journal #6
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Peer workshop of cover letters and resumes
Submit:
(Sun) Reflective journal #7
(Mon) Cover letter and resume: Submit your cover letter and resume through Moodle and bring two hard copies of each document to class. We will workshop your job documents during class.
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Reporting on informational interviews. Communicating with and around power.
Come to class prepared to report on your informational interview.
Read:
You Need a Manifesto Chapter 5 (Cultivate)
Listen:
Why women of the Supreme Court get interrupted more th— (2018). Battle Tactics For Your Sexist Workplace [Audio podcast].
Reflect:
What is your response to the podcast? Does it describe dynamics that you have witnessed or experienced? Whose responsibility is it to change assumptions and behaviors shaping whose voice is given greater authority in a group?
Submit:
(Sun) Reflective journal #8: Write a letter to yourself in which you tell your future self the top 10 things you have learned this summer—insights that you don't want to forget. I will be printing out what you turn in and physically mailing this to you via USPS five months from now, so please include in your journal entry the address you want me to send it to (where you will be in mid-January 2026).
(Mon) Informational interview report: Submit a paragraph reflecting on your informational interview, including your assessment of how it went, the individual’s name, why their experience is of relevance to you, and the date of your interview (250 words).
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Sharing final manifestos. Reflections on the summer.
Submit:
(Sun) Final reflection paper: Assignment details at the end of the syllabus.
(Mon) Final manifesto
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Wed, August 5 at 6pm: The Final Feast (dinner out as a group to celebrate the end of the term)