Graduates of the Ohio State College of Humanities will share their wisdom with students Thursday.

The College of Humanities Career Night will invite 11 alumni back to campus to discuss the opportunities a humanities degree can grant students, said Conor McCarthy, a senior in humanities and a member of the Dean’s Student Advisory Group.

“Humanities students graduate with communication and interpersonal skills that are valuable in the workforce and their career,” said Ellen Graf, a senior in humanities and a member of DSAG. “The humanities provide an arena for people to advance every opportunity that’s available to them.”

The DSAG in the College of Humanities is organizing the event. The career night program is now in its seventh year.

“The stereotype is that students in humanities are never going to get a job, and their only recourse is to get a Ph.D. or to teach,” McCarthy said. “We want to show students the wide range of jobs they could end up working in.”

Shari Lorbach, coordinator of Alumni Relations in the College of Humanities, said the students of DSAG, rather than the faculty, picked out which alumni to invite.

“It’s a balanced panel between men and women, disciplines and ethnicities,” she said.

The first half of the event will be a panel discussion with the alumni.

“We’ll give (the alumni) a minute to say how their humanities degree got them where they are and then hold an open discussion,” McCarthy said.

In the more informal second half, the visiting alumni will be divided into stations by occupation, and students may approach and speak with any alumni.

The alumni come from a diverse range of jobs, from Executive Director of the Columbus Zoo Jerry Borin to Purpose magazine writer and publisher Ella Coleman. Other fields, such as education, law and banking, will also be represented.

“There’s not one set path in humanities. That’s what makes it interesting,” Lorbach said.

She said freshmen and sophomores in humanities not yet heavily involved in their majors would benefit from the alumni talks.

“Alumni suggest students get involved on campus, seek leadership opportunities and get internships. (The career night) is a great way for students to network and put them in touch with organizations,” Lorbach said.

The event, sponsored by the Undergraduate Student Government, the Alumni Association and DSAG, will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday in the Faculty Club’s grand lounge.