Why We Trek

There are many opportunities to travel during your MBA journey, but it’s the treks that really stand out. Treks are concentrated visits to cities, where you meet with multiple employers to network, check out company offices and explore the surrounding area. Over winter break, our class took a trek to the San Francisco area to meet with Facebook, Uber, Salesforce and many others.

The trip really underscored what makes treks such a great opportunity.

Making far-flung connections

Treks take you to far-off places, and that’s so that you can connect with companies that aren’t in the greater Washington, D.C., area. Investment banks tend to be clustered in New York City, and unless you go there, it can be hard to make connections with them. If you’re interested in tech companies, you’re likely going to want to visit California to meet potential employers. Setting that up can be challenging to do on your own. Getting the chance to go to several “dream” companies in one trip is among the biggest perks of the trek. Some companies just don’t recruit candidates outside of their immediate area, and that’s where the trek can really help you. Networking and connecting can help you in your subsequent applications to those companies. And since trekking MBA candidates are meeting with Smith alumni, they get an added boost. Smith alumni have a loyalty to our program and our students, so they can be powerful advocates for fellow Terps.

Reinvigorating your search

The search for the right internship or job takes work. And it can be hard to maintain a high level of engagements in the search as classes, exams and group projects compete for your attention. Going on a trek, over winter break for example, is a great way to put your full focus on the job search. Wondering who to connect with next, or where to apply next? The trek can give you some fresh ideas.

Getting to know your classmates

Traveling with people is always a way to get to know them better. You might find someone else who’s really interested in hiking, so you could take an afternoon hike in a cool spot together. Or maybe you’ll discover other foodies in your group, and you’ll spend time exploring interesting restaurants in the trek city. These environments can sometimes be intimidating too, so it’s nice to get closer to classmates so you can lean on and guide each other through the multiple company visits you’ll be doing. You can help be each others’ cheerleaders in intimidating networking situations.

Exploring new cities

Whether you’re from the United States or are studying from abroad, the trek is going to take you to some interesting places. You’ll get a chance to see some local sites, try different cuisine or take part in cool local activities. Being able to combine fun exploring activities with your job search is double the productivity. Consider arriving in the trek city a few days early, or staying a few days later, to extend your trip and fully explore the area. If you’ve already flown there, why not, right?

–By Samprithi “Sammy” Santosh. Santosh is a 2021 MBA candidate with a concentration in marketing. She worked in advertising as an account manager in Richmond, Va., before moving to Maryland to pursue her MBA.