On Wednesday February 12th, an Alum/Student Speed Mentoring event was held on Zoom by the MS in Publishing program that featured nine industry professionals in publishing that are Pace University alums as well. The lineup of mentors included:
Ana Ban Former – Foreign Rights Director at Trident Media Group Literary Agency
Harper Bullard – Publicity & Marketing Assistant, TOR Publishing Group, Macmillan
Molly Darfler – Sweeney College Business Assistant, W.W. Norton
Tara Hart – Senior Manager, Penguin Random House Audio
Erika Hattori – Administrative Coordinator, National Book Foundation, & Freelance Editor
Aleaha Renee Smith – Marketing Associate, Atria Books, Simon & Schuster
Rachel Smithline – Sales & Marketing Operations Assistant, St. Martin’s Publishing Group, Macmillan
Tara Theoret – Senior Director, Community Experience, Netgalley
Elizabeth Vinson – Editorial Assistant, Berkley Publishing, Penguin Random House
Students dispersed into breakout rooms where they had the opportunity to speak to mentors who align with their interests and future career goals in publishing. They asked questions about the industry and how they can get the most out of it. Mentors shared anecdotes about their personal experiences and provided advice on how to cultivate a positive job search experience, how to network, how to stand out amongst other internship applicants, and which supporting programs are available that can heighten a student’s chances of success in the publishing industry. With several students earning their Pace MS in publishing degrees remotely, this event also served as a great resource for them to feel more connected and gain more tangible industry insight directly.
Below, our Graduate Assistant Chardonnae and our Student Aide Oriana gave their personal commentary on the event:
Chardonnae: “As a first-year student in the program, I love events like this that provide me with gems of wisdom and additional resources and tips I can use to be successful in publishing. Getting to speak with individuals who were once in my shoes was very humbling and inspirational. I found it extremely helpful to speak with people who work in the sectors of publishing that I plan on pursuing. All of the mentors I spoke to were quite friendly and enthusiastic about helping me on my journey and allowed me to connect with them on LinkedIn, which helps me to build my publishing network over time. With publishing being a huge networking space, I am very grateful to be in a masters’ program that plans and facilitates events like Speed Mentoring to give students a helping hand and expand their minds about publishing and how they can make their mark in the field.”
Oriana: “As a first-year student in the program, I was very excited for this speed mentoring, not only because of the opportunity to listen to publishing professionals in a wide range of departments but also to hear alumni experiences and how their transition was from the MS in Publishing program into the real world. I got the chance to talk with Ana Ban, Rachel Smithline, and Aleha Renee. All of whom were very friendly and helpful, talking about their experiences at their jobs, giving advice for the job application process and what skills to develop for specific positions, and sharing about their time at the program, from what classes and events they enjoyed and found helpful for their careers to some of their best memories with friends and faculty.”
We hope everyone was able to learn and grow from the mentoring experience and we cannot wait to host the next one!