“Reaching Your Dreams” series tells stories of Northwestern alums of Chicago Field Studies, an academic internship program that matches over 500 students every year with over 250 employer partners. CFS participants receive guidance on choosing internships based on their passions and values. Students navigate applying and interviewing and develop skills to succeed in the professional world. While interning, students process their experiences in weekly CFS seminars, where they reflect on the place of work in their lives and the role of their industry in society.
By Nina Wieda
Michael Palaskas is graduating from Northwestern in Spring 23 and starting a year-long Fulbright program working for a business company in Mexico City. His CFS experience introduced him to impactful people and inspired him to seek out unconventional paths to a fulfilling career.
Michael Palaskas as a child
Growing up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Michael began thinking about work at an early age as he listened to his parents discuss their careers. He realized that there is a wide range of what jobs can be – from a way to pay the bills to a passion and a source of genuine excitement. He decided to take his time and select a profession that felt meaningful.
Michael considered law because he enjoyed debating and politics because it offered a tangible way to make a difference. Once at Northwestern, he pivoted to studying economics, attracted by its emphasis on logical reasoning. At the same time, he became aware of the strong finance culture among his peers and started considering a career in business.
After his freshman year, he interned with a tech firm, but couldn’t quite envision himself thriving as a tech professional. Waiting until the following summer to try another internship felt like too long of a wait; Michael wanted to be proactive about finding the right career match. He applied for Chicago Field Studies and secured a position with CDI Global, whose CEO Jeff Schmidt has worked with Chicago Field Studies for 15 years and mentored over 150 Northwestern undergraduates. Jeff became a true mentor to Michael, introducing him to various business roles and niche industries. The hands-on work brought Michael right into the thick of things: “I got a level of client interaction that was, for a sophomore in college, second to none. I was able to talk, one on one, with clients at companies that we were advising, and I didn’t really realize at the time how valuable and unique that experience was.” The internship involved working with international partners, which laid a foundation for Michael applying for a binational Fulbright program during his senior year.
While exploring the world of business in his internship, Michael engaged in a broader career exploration in his CFS class. One of the course assignments asked students to interview three accomplished professionals and reflect on their career journeys. Michael decided to make the most of the assignment. He reached out to a congressman from Minnesota, a think tank analyst with DC politics experience, and finally, he asked his professor for an introduction to the mayor of Evanston, who was at the time nearing the end of his term. Each conversation illuminated a non-linear career path that gave Michael a lot of food for thought. He walked away from his CFS experience with an understanding that his road to professional fulfillment may have to be more complex than he had originally imagined.
Pieces of the career puzzle started to fit together after Michael spent a semester studying abroad in Spain, then traveled in Latin America. While in Peru, he watched people working extremely hard to make a living, compared their lives to what he had seen in corporate America, and realized that international development was a field that appealed to his passion for public service and business. He decided to apply for a Fulbright to work for a year in Mexico.
“I had to interview in Spanish! That was very daunting,” Michael laughs while reflecting on the challenging selection process. His Spanish must have been on par with his other qualifications, because he was awarded a Fulbright fellowship to work for a year in Mexico City for a business company. He is now waiting for his placement and getting ready to move to Mexico in August.
Michael’s Northwestern journey took him from Minneapolis to Mexico City, and the people he met on the way inspired him to think big and seek professional growth in different industries and in different countries.