During her freshman year at Northwestern, Annie Epstein (Medill ’23) couldn’t see how she could integrate her love for her synagogue into her future career as a journalism major. Now, she’s a grants and foundation management associate at Hillel International in Washington, D.C. and the intersection couldn’t be more obvious.
While there’s countless clubs that NU students can join when they arrive in Evanston, those who participate in organizations that plan large-scale events that may include talent coordination or logistics often take those skills with them with they graduate.
Epstein joined Northwestern Hillel during her first quarter on campus and by the time she was halfway through her college education, she applied for a summer internship at Hillel International.
“That’s when I realized that I could actually combine my interests in media and writing with the Judaism aspect,” she said.
Two years later, she’s employed at the same organization.
Epstein said her transition from campus Hillel to the company’s headquarters was straightforward and the interview process felt like a natural fit for her.
“In some interviews it’s hard to think of answers, but in this one, they were asking questions that I felt I had genuine answers and genuine experience to talk about,” she said.
Matthew Norambuena (Weinberg ’23) described a similar trajectory to Epstein. He said that if it weren’t for his extracurricular experiences at NU, he likely wouldn’t have his current job working as a communications assistant for U.S Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.).
Like Epstein, Norambuena got involved on campus as soon as he arrived, but for him, finding a community he could discuss and learn about politics with was most important. So, he joined NU College Democrats and from there he climbed his club’s ranks.
During his 2022-23 tenure as the president of the organization, Norambuena helped bring prominent Democratic speakers like Andrew Yang, Stacey Abrams, Julián Castro and David Hogg to campus.
Though he enjoyed being part of the team that coordinated such highly attended speaker events, Norambuena said the most consequential part of his College Democrats involvement when it came to his career was simply engaging with new people.
“It was really helpful to have alumni who are really willing to give advice, tell you about job opportunities or speak on their experiences, and also just to be with other people who are looking for the same jobs and to be able to help each other collaborate,” he said.
Aside from his involvement in planning speaker events, Norambuena also oversaw all of the club’s programs, managed its budget and coordinated campaigns during elections. He said these experiences helped him to not only get his current job, but land two congressional internships during his summers at NU.
Involvement in large-scale event-planning on campus is not restricted to social activism or affinity groups, though.
Alumni who were involved in production groups like Mayfest Productions, Northwestern University Dance Marathon and A&O Productions have also benefited professionally from their extracurriculars.
Mayfest and A&O manage budgets of more than $100,000 and organize events for thousands of students, and NUDM is one of the country’s largest entirely student-run philanthropies.
Chloe Lim (SESP ’23) studied psychology and learning and organizational change at NU. She also served as executive co-chair of NUDM 2023.
After graduating, Lim got a job with The Christkindlmarket Chicago where she had the opportunity to apply her experience from NUDM in a more festive context.
“The reason why I chose to do work at the Christkindlmarket was because I liked what I do with NUDM, so much I wanted to see if I wanted to do it as a career,” she said.
As a member of Christkindlmarket’s special projects team, Lim undertakes logistical tasks year-round that culminate in the execution of one major event — similar to the processes she experienced with NUDM.
“I did NUDM as an organization on campus and not as my academic major,” she said. “So there’s definitely that connection there where I enjoyed my time and wanted to see how it panned out in the ‘real world.’”
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Twitter: @AudreyPachuta
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