Chinese philosopher, Confucius, once said, “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” Years later, this quote still resonates with people today.
Starting from a young age, people want to follow a trajectory that will lead them to their dream job. This mindset can be overwhelming with anxious thoughts that relentlessly repeat: “My decisions right now will dictate my future.”
Many people on the internet are struggling with this predicament too. In 2020, a writer from Forbes published an article titled “Why It’s So Hard to Narrow Down Your Career Choice.” Presently, career quizzes are commonly searched on the web.
However, the path is not always linear. As the years go by, people grow and aspirations change. So what happens next?
On Feb. 26, 2025, students at Baruch College Campus High School were given the opportunity to explore a variety of careers. Presenters spoke to Baruchians about their jobs, their college experience and how they chose the right job for them.
Majorly Imperfect Path
Lisa Durval is the CEO of Open Bar Hospitality, a company that offers event planning. She helps her clients bring their vision to life through bartendence, service, and decor. “To see it all come together, I love that,” she said. However, she did not know that forming her own business was the right career path for her. She wishes she knew exactly what she wanted to do in order to hone in on that major specifically.
Hospitality management is a great major for anyone looking into the catering industry or any other public services like restaurants or hotels. This degree educates students on how to meet the needs of their clients, ensuring a smooth transition in the process. Durval recommends that young people apply for internships to help them gain experience.
Nutritionist Vosharra Wooten also has advice for future college students. Wooten said, “It’s not a perfect road, but it does become helpful if you meet people that have college experience, maybe start doing internships earlier in your college career because that can help you with networking and finding a job.” She also suggests visiting colleges, volunteering, and being a part of extracurricular activities. Most importantly, Wooten advises Juniors to start thinking about what they want to study because she changed her major frequently.
Similarly, Tally Sodre was also unsure of what she wanted to major in. She said, “…I took a lot of different classes [until] I found the one that interested me the most.” Now, she is an environmental engineer which matches her love for problem-solving. Sodre advises high schoolers to keep asking questions and trying new things.
Struggles
Journalist Ariama Long remembers struggling at the start of college. Despite knowing that her passion for writing was one that she wanted to pursue, she was not prepared for the immense loneliness of college life. “I was just out there by myself for a long time and I’m not super great at making friends,” Long said, “The first semester or two was a little rough for sure.”
When asked about what she learned from school, Long explains how it was more of self reflection rather than academics that enlightened her. She said, “It was learning [how] to ask hard questions, (…) how to be yourself in really uncomfortable situations.”
Now, Long is a political news reporter for the New York Amsterdam News. She encourages aspiring journalists to write about what they are passionate about. As for students who are unsure of what they want to do, she advises them to choose something that they love because they are “going to be stuck with it for a long time.”
A Baruch Alum’s Journey
A commonality among the presenters is that they were primarily focused on the college they wanted to attend, instead of figuring out the profession that they wanted to pursue. Like everyone else, there is always a dream school that people have their hopes set on. In the end, happiness was not about the school itself, but making the most of the experience.
At first, Marcus Braham did not know that he wanted to venture into public relations. In college, he was an English major with little idea of what he wanted to do. All he knew was that he wanted to write.
Braham thought of becoming a professor, but was not truly invested in teaching at the time. He had always loved reading magazines of his favorite artists and celebrities. It was not until his friend introduced him to public relations that the career stuck out to him. He said, “Once I learned more about [public relations] and saw how it brought together all my interests, I just kind of fell into it.”
For Braham, writing was the most crucial skill he learned in school. A huge part of his job as a publicist is communicating his client’s story in the media. “Becoming a creative thinker in terms of writing and storytelling, is a skill that I developed [at] Baruch that I still use to this day and every day in my professional career,” he said. His job allows him to work creatively by writing press releases or press materials, cementing his passion for writing and media.
Growing up in NYC, Braham had always dreamed of attending NYU or Columbia University. While applying to colleges, he set high expectations for himself which led to years of unnecessary pressure and stress. In retrospect, he now reflects on his college and career experiences differently. He realized that the college he attended was not a measurement of his success.
Braham said, “I wish I knew that wherever I landed, I was going to be able to make the best of it.”
