Taking advantage of opportunities, securing internships on their paths toward their career goals and having a passion for your career choice were emphasized to the MHS students during the panel discussion.  Clare De Briere ’85 once had her heart set on the advertising world until one internship with a development company made her switch gears. “That was 20 years ago, and I have never left the company.” She added, “You probably won’t do what you think you were going to do going into college.”

Being open to new opportunities is also how Marissa Hansen ’94 landed in the field of social work. “You all have great opportunities and access to people. Get advice, do internships and be passionate about what you want to do.”

Passion and curiosity for new opportunities is what led Mary Lyon ’71 to hold four careers since her college graduation. “After graduation, I sent 87 letters at first to news stations and got back about 12 replies. And learning from lessons at Marymount like sticking to it and doing the extra research, I followed up.” Emphasizing the importance of internships, she also requested the need for internships to help manage her son’s band, which received an ample amount of interest from students in attendance.

A commonly known fact that law school is no easy path, Alana Srour ’01 hit home the point that law school is a “beast of its own” and you have to be willing to make sacrifices. “If you are still trying to figure it out, the best advice is don’t go to law school unless you are certain that’s where you want to be.” However, for Srour, who started off in the fashion industry, she always knew that’s where she wanted to be – and according to her, the end goal is worth all the sacrifices she has to make.

Echoing Srour’s statement that having passion for your job is a must, Juliana Tyson ’03 admitted that being an artist is one of the hardest career paths, but if you want it, you have to do everything you can to go and get it. “If you’re not willing to be kicked to the curb and make no money and do all these jobs and then go to your passion project at night, then you have no business being in this career.” But she added that if you don’t tap into what you love to do, it will just eat at you until you do. “Sometimes it’s hard to acknowledge within yourself that what you’re good at isn’t necessarily what you love to do.” 

If you are interested in being a speaker on a future career panel, please contact the Alumnae Office at [email protected].