On Thurs, February 26th 2015 the Department held a careers event with speakers who have degrees in Sociology and Politics.
The three speakers included Emma Barnes, Director of Helpline Services, AWARE; Sinead Callanan, Secondary School Teacher, and Conor Sweeney, Department of Foreign Affairs.
Emma, Sinead, and Conor talked about the versatile career pathways open to students of Sociology and Politics, and explained how their disciplinary training and background informs their working lives. This event was organised by the Department of Sociology in response to student demand and was supported by the MU Careers Office.
Below one of the attendees, Frances Caulfield, has written a summary of the event - many thanks for doing this!
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The inaugural Sociology/Politics Careers Event took place on Thursday, 26 February, 2015. The event showcased three of the best and brightest politics and sociology graduates who had been invited to give the audience an insight into their studies in Maynooth and their subsequent career paths.
First up was Conor Sweeney who outlined the path to his career as a parliamentary liaison to Charlie Flanagan, T.D. and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. Conor who hails from Ballyroan, Co. Laois spoke of his long standing interest in politics and public affairs. His mother is a county councillor in County Laois. He spoke with warmth of his time as a Politics and Economics student at Maynooth University. Conor’s postgraduate studies, a Master of Arts in Political Communication and Public Affairs at DIT, and an internship in the Seanad gave him an opportunity to show his passion and dedication for politics and were instrumental in furthering his career. He spoke of his varied workload spending three days per week in the constituency office in Portlaoise and two days in the Dáil.
The second speaker was Sinéad Callanan, who graduated from Maynooth with a degree in Sociology and Geography. She talked with great passion of her role as a teacher of Geography, Social Personal Health Education (SPHE) and Civic Social Political Education (CSPE) in St. Declan's College in Cabra. She noted how her grounding in sociology had been instrumental in her founding the Zambian Immersion Programme in St. Declan's College. Today, she is one among many who promotes the programme in the school, which extends to Transition Years and Fifth Year students. Sinéad recounted her experiences during her career break on social justice projects such as working in Australia with aboriginal women and in Zambia with early school leavers where she was exposed to customs such as witchcraft. She also spoke very movingly of her experience of crossing the Ganges river in India. Sinéad powerfully communicated her passion for social equality and justice and her dedication to the teaching profession.
The final speaker of the evening was Dr. Emma Barnes who spoke with great enthusiasm about her role in AWARE, the leading mental health charity in Ireland. She always had a keen interest in people and mental health. Emma felt that Sociology gave her an opportunity to gain an understanding of and explore how people interact and behave. She spent time tutoring in Maynooth while working towards her PhD in the sociology of mental health which contributed greatly to her confidence. She recounted how her father initially had doubts about what she was intending to do with degrees in Sociology and how she had reassured him that there was a bright career waiting for her. She emphasised how the various transferable skills learned at university such as critical analysis, time management and teamwork were invaluable to her both personally and in her career.
Overall, this was a very informative and thought-provoking event which offered an opportunity for undergraduates to network with the graduates and to discuss their own potential in relation to sociological or political interests and possible career paths.
Frances Caulfield, second year Sociology.
Image left shows Conor Sweeney speaking to the audience and below Dr. Emma Barnes presenting.