January Term courses offer students an expanded academic experience in a compressed time frame. They are held online, in McMinnville, throughout the U.S. or in another country. Years later, many alumni remember these courses as some of the most impactful of their Linfield experience.
After a decade-long hiatus, faculty emeritus Scott Chambers came out of retirement to offer students a unique January Term opportunity in 2024. He and Madeleine Romero, visiting associate professor of business, accompanied a small group of students on a whirlwind adventure as part of the Finance Seminar/Securities Market class.
The group met with finance professionals in McMinnville, Portland, Seattle and New York City. In total, the class made 15 visits and had an opportunity to discuss careers in finance with more than 40 Linfield alumni, many of whom were prior January Term participants themselves.
“I learned that future success isn’t just about what you know, but also about who you know and how you leverage those connections,” Connor Stevens ’24 said.
In addition to the site visit, students participated in two alumni events – one in Seattle and one in New York – where they had the opportunity to network with alumni from various eras and career fields.
Though there was a great deal of talk about careers, investments, ETFs, hedge funds and other finance topics, there were plenty of opportunities to have fun and explore the cities as well. Funded by donations from alumni, the students attended two Broadway shows (“Moulin Rouge” and “Gutenberg! The Musical!”) as well as the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, for example.
The lessons learned, the skills developed, the friendships forged and the memories made will last well beyond their time at Linfield.
“The ability to meet professionals and establish connections allowed me to explore career opportunities,” Alaina Clark ’24 said. “It was a life-changing opportunity.”
