The University of Michigan’s Institute for the Humanities hosted a career panel on Wednesday evening featuring five U-M alumni who had studied the humanities. The event was held at the Osterman Common Room in the Thayer Academic building. The Institute for the Humanities hosts events with the goal of helping students navigate careers in humanities fields, from conducting research projects to working in the nonprofit sector. The career panel was specifically designed to help students navigate the workforce with a humanities degree.
One of the panelists was Lorena Chambers, a postdoctoral research fellow for the History Department and the Inclusive History Project at the University. In addition to her work at the University, Chambers is CEO of Chambers Lopez Strategies, a political advertisement company.
Chambers said obtaining a humanities degree at the University allowed her to build a strong skill set that she utilizes in her current career.
“I never in a million years thought I would be producing and directing commercials,” Chambers said. “But the idea (with the humanities degree) was that with these basic skills I have, if I found something interesting, I could tackle it.”
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, LSA junior Leah Driehorst, one of the organizers of the event and public humanities intern at the Institute for the Humanities, reflected on the importance of uplifting humanities-related careers.
”There’s a fear that the humanities are not important and there are people telling you it’s not important, as well as concern about the pay,” Driehorst said. “But I think when you have the support system, and there are people in your corner saying you can do it, it’s worthwhile.”
A major focus of the panel was the question of whether or not a humanities degree and career is “worth it.” Panelist Gabrielle Kirsch, director of grassroots giving for the Union for Reform Judaism, encouraged attendees to think about how they personally define what is valuable. Kirsch emphasized the importance of choosing a fulfilling career path and focusing on elements beyond salary.
“You can graduate from Ross and you will get a high-paying job, right?” Kirsch said. “But is that job going to be the lifestyle you want? If you’re doing something that is responsive to what you’re good at, you’re going to find a job that is valuable in the way that you define value.”
Panelist Emily Schmitt, administrative coordinator for the University of Michigan Humanities Collaboratory said her humanities education has helped her become a quality candidate for jobs in a variety of fields.
“It’s all the soft skills,” Schmitt said. “You have to first have that cover letter with good writing that is selling yourself with all of those soft skills, and then it’s having that interview and speaking the same language as your interviewer because communication goes both ways. You have to be a good communicator.”
Panelist Jeff Waraniak, senior writer at Ford Motor Company, said a humanities degree can be advantageous when searching for jobs because the ability to communicate ideas is a skill that takes time to learn and will always be in demand.
“What I’ve learned, coming from an English major background, is that we all need to tell stories, even giant corporations and companies all over the world,” Waraniak said. “They need to know how to tell a good story, and they often need to know how to do it quickly and succinctly.”
Panelist Ted Delphia, executive director for the Michigan Japanese Bilingual Education Foundation, emphasized the importance of finding a fulfilling career.
“You don’t have to become an MBA, you don’t have to become a dentist,” Delphia said. “You can just go and find where you fit and where the world fits with you. ”
In an interview with The Daily, LSA senior Lara Janosz said the panel made her feel hopeful about entering the workforce with her humanities education.
“I think it’s really great to hear about how well rounded the humanities makes you and how much perspective it gives you into approaching different cultures and the people you’ll meet in different contexts,” Janosz said.
Daily News Contributor Sasha Kalvert can be reached at skalvert@umich.edu.