University of Richmond students take a road trip to NYC to learn about job options
Student Experience
Spiders travel to the Big Apple to meet alumni in creative careers, including at NBCUniversal, Amazon Ads, and the NBA.
About twenty students traveled from Richmond in January to get an inside look at some of New York City’s top firms during the Spiders in Creative, Communications, & Marketing Road Trip.
The group of students from the School of Arts & Sciences, Jepson School of Leadership Studies, and Robins School of Business are interested in careers in advertising, marketing, public relations, media, and creative strategy. The events included an alumni reception and behind-the-scenes visits to NBCUniversal, Wieden+Kennedy, The Beauty Co-Lab, 360PR+, the National Basketball Association, and Amazon Ads.
“The highlight of the trip was visiting such a wide variety of companies,” said Bella Rosen, a sophomore business administration major. “I’ve always known I wanted a career in marketing, but I had no idea how many different paths you can take with the same degree.”
First up was a combined Spiders in the City reception, where they were joined by alumni and 38 students who had come to NYC for a Spiders on Wall Street trip. About 150 alumni attended the event and shared stories about navigating their early careers and finding roles that aligned with their interests.
“Alumni shared that they often didn’t know what they would do with their degrees while they were in college,” Rosen said. “I talked to one alum who ended up changing his entire career path because of a random elective course he took. He gave me advice about not being afraid to try new things.”
Over the next two days, the students visited various companies, seeing sites like NBC’s famous 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios, Wieden+Kennedy’s stylish Soho offices, and the NBA’s shiny Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy — as alumni working at these firms answered their questions. The presence of Spider alumni and other young professionals made the visits feel more real and accessible, said marketing lecturer Joel Mier, one of four faculty and staff who accompanied the students on the trip.
“The highlight for me every year is watching students connect with alumni and practitioners in a way that drives curiosity, piques their interest, and creates excitement about what could be,” Mier said. “It's different for each student, so every stop is exciting.”
The University has made creative industry visits to New York available to Richmond students for over a decade.
“I appreciate the genuine desire our alums have to help younger Spiders find opportunities and enthusiastically share their professional connections,” said Laura Thompson, assistant dean of the Robins School of Business.
Rosen and senior Jodi-Anne Reid, a business administration major, didn’t waste any time following up with the alumni.
"I connected with almost everyone I met on the trip on LinkedIn and did my best to send thank-you messages to all of them. I also reached out to a few with more specific questions,” Reid said.
She added, “Everyone was incredibly kind, and it really benefited me as a senior looking into life post-grad to hear about their varied life paths. The advice that they gave me was invaluable.”