The Center for Education on Social Responsibility’s (CESR) partnership with Leeds Career Development and MBA Career Management continues with the the 2015 Los Angeles CESR Career Trek later this October.
Applications for the program were nearly double the number of available spots, and came from both MBA students and undergraduate students. Of the 35 applicants, 19 were accepted to fill the available spots, comprised of 14 MBAs and 5 undergraduates. The companies Leeds will visit this year include, among others, Patagonia, Lakeshore Learning, Warner Bros, Southern California Edison, and The City of LA.
CESR’s Executive Director, Dr. Mark Meaney, will be joining students on the Trek as a guide and mentor.
“We are operating with the understanding that what CESR offers in the way of curriculum development, programming, and events helps students to get jobs,” said Dr. Meaney, continuing, “Naturally, our primary focus is on promoting the notion that ‘business can be a force for good’, but the CESR Career Treks result in a very practical outcome in that students see CSR and sustainability as a legitimate career path.”
This is the second career trek of its kind following the widely successful 2015 San Francisco CESR Career Trek, where students met with high-profile companies in the Bay Area including Google and Microsoft.
While the previous trip to California was primarily made up of MBA students, this year’s mixture of MBA and undergrad will give students a greater opportunity to learn from each other and grow the community at Leeds. The Los Angeles CESR Career Trek is also entirely student inspired. Students approached faculty with the desire to organize a second trek and suggested ideal companies to visit in LA, many of which have agreed to be involved.
Trek Benefits
CESR Career Treks give participants face-to-face interactions with executives from the areas of sustainability, community relations, corporate social responsibility, compliance, and HR. These execs operate at high-solvency businesses with a strong presence in social activity and sustainability programs. As one Microsoft HR representative noted at last year’s trek, just being there in person was a resume differentiator for students.
Curious about Career Treks?
Take a look at all the treks offered at Leeds here.