It’s been a long semester of remote classes, Zoom meetings, an ongoing pandemic, a disputed election, and continued social unrest. Everyone I know is tired and in dire need of a break, and I’m entirely confident that this holds true for Penn students as well. While finals are yet to come, a break is in sight shortly thereafter. The Career Services office will be closed beginning on December 24th until it reopens on January 6th and, like you, the staff is looking forward to some time to unwind.
I’m using this post to encourage all Penn students to do the same so that we are all able to start the spring semester renewed and refreshed. In a typical year before a semester break I might provide a lengthy list of career-related steps that students could take to move forward in their career development, but this year it feels to me that the time would be better spent on rejuvenating oneself – pick up a few books to read for pleasure, take an online cooking class, binge watch a new series on Netflix, or take some online yoga classes. There are probably many things that you have not had the bandwidth to do over the last few months and winter break is perhaps the time to seize the moment. Think of it as a winter gift to yourself.
In this virtual world we’ve found ourselves in this fall, know that our meetings with students have been a daily highlight for many of the Career Services staff. Although we have missed seeing you in-person in the office, the connections made via videoconference have still brightened our days and we look forward to connecting again in 2021. If you find that you would like to touch base with us before the 24th, please feel free to schedule an appointment through Handshake… and of course there are loads of great resources to explore on the Career Services website if you feel so inclined.
Best wishes to all of you on your finals and wishing you the happiest of holidays.
