Our American Tobacco Campus with CBC Real Estate. Since the campus includes the Burt’s Bees headquarters, our trek group posed in front of a duplicate of Burt’s house.
In January, I and 19 other Wisconsin School of Business undergraduate students spent three days visiting companies in Raleigh, North Carolina. The career trek was part of WSB’s Career Forward program, which sets WSB apart by giving students early connections to companies nationwide.
We not only toured offices but also a local television station, the Durham Bulls baseball stadium, and the Lenovo Design Lab. We heard from panels of professionals, many of whom are Wisconsin alumni, about their companies and life in Raleigh.
Lauren Downham
One company we visited was Atomic Object. The managing co-directors of the software company, Taylor Vanden Hoek and Ryan Abel, told us about their decision to expand Atomic Object from the Midwest to Raleigh.
After advocating for themselves to become managing directors of a new office and spending months weighing different cities, they decided Raleigh’s growing tech industry was too attractive to pass up. The Raleigh metro is one of the fastest-growing in the nation, and its career opportunities are keeping pace. I was impressed with how Vanden and Abel advocated for themselves, and it’s a lesson I will always remember.
By visiting emerging tech hubs such as Raleigh, WSB ensures students know about cutting-edge businesses.
WHAT ARE CAREER TREKS?
Interested Business Badgers can apply for career treks that are industry-specific or that explore several industries. They are held multiple times a year in cities across the United States. I’ve found them so valuable that I’ve been on two!
I went to New York City on a marketing-focused trek my sophomore year. I learned about different career pathways within marketing, from agency to in-house. The Raleigh trek focused on exploring different industries.
Career treks are a great way to explore majors. I wish I took advantage of them when I was still deciding on an area of study. The “undecided” freshman I befriended on the trek agreed—they heard about careers that weren’t on their radar.
I didn’t know many business students when I joined the business school as a sophomore. I sought out opportunities such as career treks to get involved and meet new friends. It’s nice to see more familiar faces around WSB now and to get to work together with those friends in class!
EXPLORING NEW CITIES, INDUSTRIES, AND COMPANIES
The sunset from our hotel in Raleigh on our Career Trek, part of WSB’s Career Forward program.
I’ve always been curious about other cultures, and that curiosity has taken me as far as Japan for an exchange year and a UW Signature internship. Those experiences drove home how much we stand to learn from getting out and seeing the world.
Career treks offer a chance to see the inside workings, cultures, and strategies of leading companies. Seeing real workplaces made my coursework feel more tangible. Concepts from my marketing and design courses came alive when I saw how companies applied them in real time. These insights from tours are especially valuable when job hunting; it’s hard to gauge work environments from job postings alone.
Hearing alumni share their experiences—and picturing myself in their shoes—demystified post-grad life. Each evening, we also had the chance to explore Raleigh. I was struck by its natural beauty and the passionate school spirit that fuels the “Triangle” of Duke University, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.
As I look ahead to my own career, I’m grateful to be part of a business school that invests in experiential learning. Career treks have given me a clearer picture of what I want in a city, industry, company, and career after graduation—from a collaborative culture and pursuit of innovation to resources for learning.
Author Lauren Downham is a junior at the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is majoring in marketing. Outside of the classroom, she is the Career Engagement Chair of MKT Honorary Marketing Society and a Run Madtown intern within the Wisconsin Marketing Organization. Her passion for transit solutions has led her to serve as the President of the Wisconsin High-Speed Transportation Group and the Marketing Chair of the Civil and Environmental Student Council. In her free time, she loves playing badminton, sketching, and reading fantasy novels.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauren.downham/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-downham/
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