Career Services Spotlight – Korenet Brown, MPA, ’19, John A. Reisenbach Foundation

I completed the Summer 2018 Graduate Student Fellowship with the John A. Reisenbach Foundation. My responsibilities included planning for two new programs that would roll out in Fall 2018, in addition to running an annual summer fundraising campaign. I learned a ton – from work ethic to my responsibilities and deliverables. My position was virtual, so I quickly learned how to work autonomously. I learned to be my own leader and task manager, in addition to learning hard skills like event planning, research and communications.

I was tasked with planning a biannual Forum series, in which I did nearly everything. I found a donated event space, I recruited participants: expert panelists, moderator, and audience members. I created all communications, from the Save the Date to the invitation to the social media posts. The second program included creating a new, smaller scale grant program for emerging NYC nonprofits. My work included much of the same caliber of responsibility: I recruited an Advisory Council of local nonprofit experts, spoke with board members and media company executives regarding participation, and determined how to best meet the needs of the expected nonprofit participants.

From this fellowship, I’ve determined that this is the career path I want to take. I want to be a Foundation Program Officer when I graduate with my MPA from Baruch College. The fellowship actually turned into a part-time role this school year 2018-2019. I am grateful to Marny Smith and the Marxe Career Services team that led me to the Marxe CareerConnect, in which I applied to several summer job opportunities. My advice is that for most of us, we are only in graduate school once: apply to fellowships that sound interesting, that are an experience you’ve never had, but always wanted, and don’t let fear of rejection get in the way. Talk to career services. The fellowship opportunities posted on Marxe CareerConnect are from relationships this school has, so take advantage of being part of the MSPIA family. You’re likely to succeed if you just go for it.