Two alumni from the class of 2005, Jonathan Landsman and Ken Brown, gave an entertaining and informative presentation on September 21 entitled, “You Don’t Have to Be a Consultant.” Introductions from Sarah Gardner, Scott Lewis, and Joan Edwards highlighted the connections both alums built and still maintain at Williams: Jonathan was very involved in running the Kellogg Garden and gave a Log Lunch talk about its history his senior year; Ken worked at Hopkins Forest every semester and was a key member of the Outing Club (and is now responsible for the latest edition of the WOC trail guide). Jonathan and Ken explained how they have both continued to pursue their interests in gardening and forestry since graduation, with an emphasis on how they ended up in different jobs and the various issues that have gone into their choices along the way. Now a gardener at the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, Jonathan explained how he decided to work in public horticulture: “I just asked myself, what is the thing I would least regret learning more about? …How am I going to do that?” Ken is now pursuing a graduate degree in forestry while working full-time, but he also spent several years after college working in parks and conservation associations across the country. He reflected that in his initial job search, “my experience with the forest and the outing club were more important on my resume than where I went to college at the time.”
In preparation for their Log Lunch presentation, Jonathan and Ken asked friends from the classes of 2004-2007 for advice to share with current seniors that they “would have believed if someone had said it” to them as students. In keeping with the practical emphasis and genuine approachability communicated throughout their talk, Jonathan and Ken have compiled this advice along with a database of information on jobs, internships, and careers in public gardening that is available at http://bit.ly/loglunch.
Megamenu Social