Putting on My Slacks in DC

It was past midnight and I was hunched over my computer, frantically scouring Amazon with the key words "business professional" and "professional slacks for women," hoping I would find the missing wardrobe piece for my professional awakening. After reading review after review, I finally found it. With a click of a button, the slacks that would transport me into my professional career were on their way to my door.

I ordered the slacks in preparation for a Career Exploration trip to Washington, DC in April, offered by the UW Department of Communication. Three-day Career Exploration trips — in DC, New York City, Los Angeles, and Seattle — provide opportunities for communication students to network and learn from successful alumni. After meeting with alumni, students schedule a follow-up interview (from Seattle) with the person they connected with most and complete a small write-up about the conversation. 

From the moment I read about the Career Exploration program, and its trips curated for Department of Communication students, I was intent on getting into the department’s Journalism and Public Interest Communication (JPIC) major. My interest in writing grew into infatuation as I learned how journalists serve the public by uplifting community voices. This new sense of purpose allowed me to explore different avenues of journalism including print, photography and radio.

When the application for the Career Exploration Trip in DC rolled around this year, I was ready. After a competitive application process, I was selected to participate among seven other communication students. Thanks to the Christopher Rauch Meyer Endowed Fund and other donor support, all but $250 of each student’s trip expenses – including our flights, hotel, and food – were covered. With the department’s alumni relations manager Megan Schoening and senior academic advisor Troy Bonnes planning and facilitating the trip, I knew we were in great hands. 

Our trip to DC involved a plane ride, two train rides, and multiple buses. Following a very short night's sleep at our hotel, we threw on our slacks, stepped onto a busy sidewalk of passersby dressed in their best, chugged some coffee and snagged a bus to our first location.

Over the next two days, we met with UW alumni inside of techy buildings, luxury offices, the House of Representatives and local breweries. After our initial timid awe of the alumni professionals, we quickly gained confidence in asking them questions about their career paths.

Having met people who transitioned between careers, now working as the director of advocacy for government professionals, the director of public affairs for the Maryland Department of Transportation, the president of a marketing company and more, we learned there is no one way to follow your passion.

A few tips were echoed by many of the eight alumni we met. They advised us to get a job that would pay for our graduate school. Having intended to go straight to graduate school after getting my bachelor’s degree, this has made me rethink that decision. The alumni also encouraged us to network with coworkers, because these connections could help us in the future. They reminded us to maintain our connections with our college professors or advisors, do research before conducting interviews, find mentors, get a job that offers opportunities to explore various career paths, fake it till you make it, teach ourselves marketable skills and so much more.

We went nonstop all week. Each day ended with a late bedtime and a short four hours of sleep. Then, dressed in our slacks (yes! those slacks!), we loaded up on caffeine and bagels to do it all over again. Despite being sleep-deprived, we bussed to each meeting bursting with excitement.

Our coffee-fueled adventures were combined with a lot of great food, a few blisters, an intense Wizards basketball game and many photos in front of gorgeous landmarks. After walking around the National Mall, which I was bummed to find out was not a shopping facility, we visited the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and admired the giant dinosaur bones and shimmering crystals. Yet, my favorite moment from the trip was when I first gazed up at the beauty of the domed United States Capitol building. Standing before its inspiring grandeur, a sense of power washed over me knowing my future is open to so many different possibilities.

My experience in DC was full of “news”: new friends, new connections, a new sense of confidence, and a new excitement for my future. I realized the point of the JPIC major is that there is no one mold, no one path to take to find your niche in the world of public communication.

As I'm sitting in my apartment in Seattle, reflecting on the adrenaline-filled journey that was DC, I’m already planning to apply to another Communication program, the State Government Communication Program in Olympia, Washington. There, I can test my hand at covering state government news. I hope my interest in current events will transport me into the next step in my academic career-driven journey. Thanks to my time in DC, I’m feeling more open to new opportunities however they come to me.

The Career Exploration trip was an opportunity I am eternally grateful to have had. For that once-in-a-lifetime experience, I finally got slacks – the missing wardrobe piece to my professional awakening. Now I just have to find more reasons to wear them. 

Learn more about the Department of Communication's Career Exploration program.