Ehlayna Napolitano (Staff Writer)
Jill Schlesinger, editor at large of CBSMoney.com, spoke to Hofstra students about the future of American finances and economic growth in her talk, “Money, Politics and You: What to Expect in 2013” in the Cultural Center Theater on Wednesday night.
Speaking before an audience made up mostly of students from the Zarb Business School and the School of Communications, Schlesinger said that despite American economic woes and the average student’s worries about the future, students should remain motivated.
“I always like to remind any college student that it’s okay to try something, even if it’s a rotten job,” said Schlesinger.
A graduate of Brown University, Schlesinger discussed her own career and stated that experimentation with jobs and being able to take any job available can help students to determine their own path. Schlesinger noted that her own changes in career took her from Wall Street to CBS—she began her working life at the Commodities Exchange, where she was one of just eight women out of a group of nearly 800 people.
“I thought I was going to do something fun and make money and I was like, ‘I don’t like this that much,’ so I decided to do something else,” she said.
Professor Robert Hoell, adjunct professor for broadcast news writing and editing, brought his class to the talk in the hopes of helping his students learn from her experience in journalism especially.
“I looked at it as Jill Schlesinger, journalist, instead of Jill Schlesinger… businessperson. To me, she’s a journalist, so I wanted them to see her and be able to ask some questions and find out how she is able to get through to her audience with what can be a very dry and boring topic sometimes,” he said.
Furthermore, Hoell added that the speaker’s advice in regards to taking internships and jobs as much as possible was something that his students could take away from the talk and use in their future education and careers.
“I think that one of the most important things that they got out of it that she said is to stand out. It’s very important to stand out…. I think they’re excited about internships and I would assume that most of them will be applying for internships this summer,” he said.
Students felt similarly that the advice given during the talk would be helpful in helping them to plan for their futures, both in their academic lives and post-graduate lives.
Caroline Kim, a first-year Marketing major, said that she learned that networking and connecting with people in your field is a very important facet of getting into that field.
“She’s really passionate… I feel like her personality is really charming and I really want to talk to her and get connected with her,” she said.
Senior entrepreneurship major, Jay Eli, said that the advice she gave was very helpful for him, especially since he will soon be entering the job market.
“I learned a lot today,” Eli said. “I grasped a lot from what she said… I can do internships, I have to get creative, I have to get on social networks, I have to find ways to put myself out there because I’m in a unique field.”
This was Schlesinger’s first time speaking at Hofstra. She typically gives three talks per year at colleges across the country. As a final piece of advice, Schlesinger left her audience with these tips: work hard, take any job and never be afraid to fail.
