On an unseasonably warm February morning students, GPS faculty, and staff wound their way through Chicago to discover firsthand the turns their career paths might take. Students met with alumni in fields related to environmental sustainability and visited different organizations with the goal of establishing the GPS Networking Day as a staple of a Beloit College education for years to come. 

The first stop of the day was Elevate, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that helps communities access sustainable heat, energy, and water in their homes. Elevate’s Talent Acquisition Manager, Kayla Creek, gave a tour of their eco-friendly headquarters and employees (dubbed “Elevators”) described the kinds of jobs they do, demonstrating to students a large range of possibilities from human resources to IT and communications.

“I saw how any major could lead to a career that makes you happy,” says Noor ul Ain ’27, a student with aspirations of working in sustainable development.

After saying goodbye to the many Elevators, the group departed for World Business Chicago, where they met and had lunch with alumni Alex Iseri ’11 and Addison Merchut ’09. Iseri and Merchut explained how Beloit College helped them navigate a nonlinear path to their current careers. Merchut, who majored in physics, entered a graduate school program for one year at Virginia Tech because he wanted to become a professor before deciding to go a different route. After working for companies like Omron and Astronics, Merchut cofounded a manufacturing company, Hatch Product Development & Contract Manufacturing.

Credit: Elliot Ave-Lallemant ’27

In the afternoon, students could choose their own path to learn more about a specific area of interest. 

One group went to the Environmental Law and Policy Center, and the other visited the Urban Growers Collective farm, picking up a familiar face, Erika Allen, Urban Growers Collective founder. At the South Chicago farm, Allen reinforced the content in her keynote address as the 2025 Ousley Scholar and facilitated hands-on learning for the students — who explored different growing patches and produce trucks, and networked with some of the goats, which proved to be a favorite — a way to reinforce the expertise Allen had shared visiting classes on campus the previous fall. The Green Era Campus, a facility that repurposes food waste from partners like Aldi into soil to grow food and methane gas to power 3,000 homes, was a final example of the GPS focus on how political, economic, social, and cultural systems shape complex issues, and think creatively about how to tackle them in different contexts.

“It was always hard for me to imagine what an actual ‘job’ in the field looked like,” said May Zaw ’27, a quantitative economics and political science major. “This was a great real world opportunity for students who want to pursue a career in environmental law and policy.”

The group reunited at the American Dental Association building in downtown Chicago (courtesy of Ian Hedges ’12) for an alumni reception that expanded the day’s networking as a first step towards stronger student-alumni connections. The success of the first ever GPS Networking Day proved that Buccaneers find their way to careers with real world impact no matter where they choose to start.