March 2019
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist to headline Career Ideas Festival SCOTT LINDELL Staff Writer
What can I do with a liberal arts degree? That’s a common question students ask Bill Baldus, director of Metro State’s Career Center. For those students concerned about the marketability of their major, he has a recommendation: go to the Career Ideas Festival on Friday, March 29. The event will be held in the Founders Hall auditorium from 8:30-11:30 a.m. Baldus booked keynote speaker George Anders to address those apprehensions. Anders is a senior editor-at-large for LinkedIn, a popular professional networking site. He is the author of five books and an award-winning journalist. His team at the Wall Street Journal won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting. He is coming to Metro State to discuss the lessons of his 2017 book, “You Can Do Anything: The Surprising Power of a ‘Useless’ Liberal Arts Education.” “If you’re a long-term thinker, the case for college as one of life’s best investments remains strong, no matter what major you choose,” Anders writes in his book. “Over time, in fact, some liberal arts majors can take you further than even the seemingly hot ticket of a computer science degree.” Baldus believes the event will debunk many myths and misperceptions about the value of a liberal arts education. Students will hear why employers gravitate
to job candidates with broadbased bachelor’s degrees, he said. Although the event is co-sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts, Baldus thinks students in any major or college—from accounting to theater, from the College of Community Studies and Public Affairs to the College of Sciences—should attend. “Everyone should embrace that they have a liberal arts degree,” he said. Baldus was referring to the General Education and Liberal Studies (GELS) courses that are required of every undergraduate. These courses emphasize writing, speaking, problem-solving, critical thinking and curiosity. All skills that George Anders says are highly-sought by today’s employers. In “You Can Do Anything,” Anders notes that career paths are not as rigid and predictable as they once were. “The opportunities to improvise are greater,” he writes. “As much as we may think the boundaries of gainful work are well fixed, they aren’t. New types of jobs keep coming into existence in ways that catch us by surprise.” “You Can Do Anything” gives tips for finding employment in this new job environment. Anders also describes tactics for securing pay raises and promotions at work. Prior to the keynote speech, students can network at a reception with employers, faculty and staff. An employer panel discussion will include Metro State graduates from the College of Liberal Arts. They will share how their education has shaped their career paths.
Courtesy of George Anders / georgeandersbooks.com
George Anders, author and editor-at-large at LinkedIn, is the keynote speaker for Metro State’s Career Ideas Festival on March 29, 2019. The first 100 people to register and attend the event will receive a free copy of his most recent book “You Can Do Anything.” It was published in 2017 by Little, Brown and Company. But back to the original question: What can I do with a liberal arts degree? Baldus said students always want specific examples. But he contends there are thousands of answers, thousands of ways to make a living from a liberal arts education.
Too many students approach this question intellectually or by Googling, he said. To find their future occupation (or occupations), Baldus said students need exposure. Through new experiences and meeting people, students will “find clues for what
‘Where I’ve always wanted to be’ Student finds calling as jack-of-alltrades at East Side Freedom Library
KATHRYN GANFIELD Staff Writer
David McAllister surveilled his handiwork in the basement of the East Side Freedom Library. On the yellow cinder block walls was the library’s current photography exhibition, “The Fruits of My Mother’s Labor” by Pao Houa Her. As part-time staff at the library, it was McAllister’s job to install the show. On full display was his physical work, precision and pride in the still-developing art gallery. The East Side Freedom Library is a nonprofit organization housed in the former Arlington Hills branch, one of St. Paul’s three Carnegie libraries. It is located just off Payne
See ANDERS on page 2 Metro State individualized studies major David McAllister holds a chisel used by his great-grandfather, a stone mason who worked on the Minnesota State Capitol at the turn of the century. McAllister loaned the chisel for display at the East Side Freedom Library in St. Paul, where he works as a parttime staff person.
Avenue, a mile and a half north of Metro State’s St. Paul campus. Exhibitions here come together quickly, and McAllister only had a few weeks’ notice before installation. He worked with the photographer to hang her work just in time for the Feb. 22 opening. Her reproduced the photographs on thin, fragile newsprint and folded them into quarters. The photos—a mix of candid and posed shots—were taken in and around the artist’s parents’ home near Lake Phalen in St. Paul. They depict her Hmong family and their interpretation of the American dream. The artist determined the rhythm and flow of the exhibition. McAllister was there to weigh in on the spacing. He gently affixed the prints to a track on the basement walls, fine-tuning and troubleshooting as he went. On a wintry March morning, two weeks after installation, some
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is next for them.” He recommends that students volunteer in the community and get out to events— like the Career Ideas Festival. “[This is the] biggest event of the year where we try to add
Kathryn Ganfield / The Metropolitan