The Coastal Society, University of Rhode Island chapter, hosted Coastal Career Day on Friday, November 18th, 2016. The goal of Coastal Career Day was to help graduating students think broadly about possible career paths in areas such as marine science, coastal management, policy and planning, and other coastal related fields. Coastal Career Day provided undergraduate students, graduate students, and professionals the opportunity to network with marine and coastal professionals from state agencies, non-profit agencies, regional scientists, consulting firms and more. The event featured several panels, where students had the opportunity to learn how professional broke into their field of work; networking with employers; resume building; and “speed networking” with speakers and employers. There were 83 attendees in total, with 27 employers and 56 students.
Back in May, members of the Coastal Society from a Coastal Career Day Planning Committee and developed plans to host this event for the New England Community. The event was largely student led under the direction of Sara Benson and Emily Patrolia, with guidance from Tiffany Smythe, TCS board member and advisor for Coastal Career Day. The planning committee was comprised of recent graduates and current graduate students in Marine Affairs: Sara Benson, Amanda Cousart, Nelle D’Aversa, Katie Denman, Heather Kinney, Eric Kretsch, Sarina Lyon, Emily Patrolia, Evan Ridley, Mike Rinaldi, and Alexa Sterling.
URI was the third TCS chapter to host a Coastal Career Day after others were held in North Carolina and Virginia last year and had the most number of attendees, employers, and speakers to date. We hope that this was the first of many Coastal Career Days hosted by University of Rhode Island and The Coastal Society.