As the academic year comes to an end, many students are looking forward to new chapters of their lives. Some graduating seniors may begin new careers or start internships in their respective fields.
Keene State College Sustainable Product Design and Innovation major William Ferguson said he will begin a full-time position at Hitchiner Manufacturing Co. in Milford, N.H. Ferguson said he will enter a one-year program which can lead to a long-term position within the company, which produces components for jet engines and other high-tolerance parts using the process of investment casting.
“Based on how I perform and what I excel in during the program, I get placed within the company based on that. My goal is to end up as a product engineer,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson said he made the connection with Hitchiner Manufacturing thanks to a presentation the company put on at KSC. “It was Keene [State College] that set up the presentation with Hitchiner. It was that presentation that started that whole process of me working there,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson continued, “They had a booth at a job fair. I gave them my resume there and they called me over winter break to set up an interview.” Ferguson said that interview turned into the offer to enroll in the training program. While Ferguson is entering the workforce, History major Lucas Braley said he will be continuing his studies at the Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Conn. Braley stated, “The Divinity School is going to be a chance for me to look at these individual forms of philosophy and be able to get that breadth of philosophical knowledge before I go on to do my dissertation.” Braley continued, “My background is in history, which is more about these philosophers rather than looking at the different philosophies.”
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Braley attributes this opportunity to a close relationship with his adviser. “What Keene [State College] excels at is those individual, one-on-one, mentor-mentee relationships with professors. If a student can identify a professor that they could work well with, you get opportunities that are fairly unique,” Braley explained. “My adviser’s focus is in German and intellectual history. I had some meetings with him when I was a junior, and I started to focus on German philosophy. After doing an independent study about the philosopher Kant, I ended up realizing that philosophy was my interest, particularly rational theology,” Braley said.
Graphic Design major Kian Stewart will be “road tripping” to the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in Lander, Wyo. for a paid graphic design internship following his graduation.
“I’ll be working on all the print media for NOLS, such as catalogues, poster design, magazine, brochures and other things like that,” Stewart said.
Stewart said he earned the position after he submitted his resume and five sample designs.
“A week after I submitted the application I sent a follow-up email to my contact and they scheduled a phone interview for the next day. About an hour after the interview I got an email saying they narrowed the search down to me and another candidate. A few days later they called and offered me the position,” Stewart recalled.
At NOLS, Stewart said he will be able to combine his hobbies of hiking and rock climbing with his graphic design education. Stewart said, “It will be a great experience and a really good addition to the resume. I would really like to work in the outdoor industry doing design work. It should open up a lot of doors for the types of jobs I’m looking for.”
Elizabeth Pockl, a political science major, will be taking a position with the New Hampshire Catholic Charities (NHCC) in Manchester, N.H. She noted that her position is operated through Americorps Vista, and she will be doing a “needs assessment for NHCC.”
Pockl said her work will reveal “what kind of innovative ideas and programs can we influence as part of NHCC’s future endeavors so they are not staying stagnate and moving forwards their overall goal.”
Pockl said aspects of her KSC experience prepared her particularly well for this position.
“One thing KSC doesn’t get enough credit for is the amount of student involvement. Alternative Spring Break gives you the opportunity to meet a lot of people. I was on the provost search committee as well. I had the opportunity to experience a lot of situations and lot of diverse people at the school. It was one of the greatest learning opportunities,” Pockl said.
David Walsh can be contacted at dwalsh@keene-equinox.com.
