Career Panel Events

GRAD SCHOOL INFO SESSION
(Fall 2025)

Speakers

SEES Peer advisors.

Organizer

Dara Laczniak

Broadening the Career Horizon of SEES Students Through Career Panel Events (Spring 2025)

Speakers

Mr. Michael Reed, a former Product Engineer for Esri and fellow graduate student

Ms. Meagan Lenna, an Assistant Geologist at the NYS Department of Transportation

Event Organizers

Emily Albines (SEES peer advisor)

Yaacov Strickon (SEES peer advisor)

Dara Laczniak (SEES faculty)
On Wednesday, March 26, 2025 the peer advisors for the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences (SEES) ushered students and faculty into room C207 of the Science Building.  They were met by two amazing guest speakers, Meagan Lenna and Michael Reed. Everyone was gathered for the semesterly career colloquium titled Beyond the Degree: Finding your Future Career. The purpose of this event was to expose SEES students to the variety of Earth and environmental science career paths that are available to them in the NYC area after graduating from Queens College—from non-profit work to city government jobs to positions with private companies—and to provide an opportunity to connect with real-world professionals.
This semester’s speakers were Ms. Meagan Lenna and Mr. Michael Reed, both of whom are affiliated with Queens College (QC). Ms. Lenna graduated from QC with three degrees in 2016: a B.S. in Geology, a B.A. in Environmental Science, and an M.S. in Applied Environmental Geosciences. She now works as an Assistant Geologist at the NYS Department of Transportation where one of her most interesting responsibilities is acting as an environmental emergency responder to petroleum spills.
Mr. Reed has a B.A. in Geological Sciences and a minor in Geography from SUNY Geneseo. Currently, he is a PhD student researching Geomorphology at the CUNY Graduate School, but he worked as a Product Engineer at ESRI between his undergraduate and graduate studies. He spoke to students about his experience at ESRI as well as his journey within academia. Mr. Reed talked about savoring and prioritizing breaks from intense work and enjoying side jobs. He still works some shifts as a barista while pursuing his PhD. In addition to providing a break from the academic world, Mr. Reed firmly believes that this gig helps him sharpen his interpersonal skills .
Both speakers highlighted the need to cultivate both hard and soft skills during undergraduate schooling. Ms. Lenna shared a very important piece of advice during the Q&A session of the colloquium. A student asked how to combat imposter syndrome when applying to jobs. Ms. Lenna said to treat the qualifications in a job description as a checklist. You do not need to possess every skill that is asked for,  but if you have the majority of the listed skills, you are absolutely qualified to apply. Many agencies will never find a “perfect” candidate that ticks all their boxes, so it is important to understand your strengths and use them to your advantage. Mr. Reed added to this advice and encouraged students to show a bit of their personality during interviews, because companies are also looking to see who will fit best into the workplace culture they are trying to cultivate. This means your ability to connect and communicate with others is just as important as your hard skills. Mr. Reed credits his interpersonal skills and outgoing nature for landing the Product Engineer position at ESRI. During the ESRI interview process, he made sure to consistently ask questions and was honest about what he did and didn’t know.
Like previous career colloquiums, this event was a great success, with over 45 students in attendance. The high turnout proves that SEES students crave career preparation opportunities and we look forward to planning more events in the future.
 
For more information contact : Dara Laczniak, dara.laczniak@qc.cuny.edu

March 2025

Government and Industry Careers Panel Event (Spring 2024)

Speakers

Michelle Park – NYC Department of Environmental Protection

Ashley Smith – United States Geological Survey’s New York Water Science Center

Isabel Riano – Hillman Consulting

Moderator

Julia Sandke

Organizer

Dara Laczniak

Event Purpose

Getting a degree is just one component of the college experience. Students must also address the dreaded and anxiety-inducing question: “What do I do with this degree!?!” In my opinion, answering this question is one of the most difficult aspects of college for students—or at least it was for me when I was in their shoes! There’s often more jobs out there in the working world that are relevant to a student’s major than they originally think—they just don’t know those jobs exist! And why would they if no one tells them about those jobs or they can’t be easily researched online? This conundrum for our SEES students is what motivated our Government and Industry Careers Panel. The purpose of this event was to expose SEES students to the different kinds of Earth science jobs that are out there. We wanted the panel to be an opportunity for students to network with successful professionals, learn exactly what a person does in different Earth science jobs, and obtain advice on how to get the jobs they are interested in!

Summary

Three amazing SEES alumni kindly devoted their time to be speakers at our event, all of whom are employed in a government agency or the private industry:

  • Michelle Park works as a Stormwater Analyst for the NYC Department of Environmental Protection;
  • Ashley Smith works as a Physical Scientist for the United States Geological Survey’s New York Water Science Center; and
  • Isabel Riano works as an Industrial Hygiene and Environmental Health and Safety Project Manager at Hillman Consulting. These speakers hold very different positions, and by sharing their personal career journeys with our audience, students were exposed to a wide range of professional opportunities in the working world!

The event was a HUGE success. We had a packed house, with over 75 undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty members in attendance. Students truly appreciated how relatable and honest our speakers were, and I have received emails from a few of them expressing interest in attending more events like our Career Panel in the future! So now, it’s time to plan the next one!

For more information contact : Dara Laczniak, dara.laczniak@qc.cuny.edu

February 2024