Student U’s Post

One of my top priorities when I joined Muhlenberg College was to lean into the strengths of the team and community, and to identify (and close) gaps. #StrategicPlanning provided us with data, insights, and priorities that guided our program development and collaborative efforts. I repeated (to my team and everyone who would listen) that the FIRST step to being fully inclusive is to reach FULL participation. It’s our only way to begin to democratize opportunity and ensure that students know how to access our support. With the help of stakeholders, partners, and some truly innovative programs, we have gone from 62% first-year engagement to 💯% first-year engagement in just 3 short years! That’s 💯% of our first year students: ☑️ Hearing that career development is a process, not a destination… ☑️ Getting exposed to the broad range of outcomes that will be accessible to them… ☑️ Getting an individual starting point for their journey… ☑️ Understanding the value and importance of developing and engaging a network… ☑️ Being exposed to the transformative power of experiential learning… The good work is not done… 💯% is a starting point, not an end-goal. Now, the next step is continually adapting messaging, creating new programs and traditions, and forming new collaborations with partners across campus until 💯% of students feel that they #Belong. The #CareerDevelopment team that I have supported for the past few years will continue to raise the bar, and continue to do have an impact on each individual student.

What percentage of college students are #FirstGen? The numbers might surprise you. 56% of students enrolled in college do not have parents who attended college. That's me. And it's a very important part of my identity - a part I was often actively discouraged from discussing. ➡️None of my recommenders for college mentioned my first gen status ➡️Job recruiters encouraged me not to mention it in my applications ➡️Employers told me not to publicly mention it because it undermined my academic credibility To be first gen can often feel like a lonely path. That's why events like Nassau Community College First Generation Student Brunch are essential to increase visibility and to normalize the experience. I was honored to speak alongside my distinguished colleagues Orval Jewett, MA, MPK, MSW, DSW, LCSW, Adeline Mucci, Leonardo Falcon, Ph.D., Deborah Spiro, Ed.D., Maria P. Conzatti, Connie Egelman and share our unique journeys. If you work in #recruitment , #admissions, #talentdevelopment , #talentacquisition, what are some of the ways you are centering and honoring the first gen experience?

When we talk about long-term student success, what does that mean? If we want to help more students become fulfilled, economically successful adults who also contribute to a strong workforce and community, we need better, earlier opportunities for students to explore careers, build confidence, and truly understand how to navigate through education to the future of their choosing. Career-focused advising and exploration can help students see the relevance of what they’re doing and learning in school. It can create an “a-ha” moment about a particular career or interest area that can set a student on a clearer path toward their goals. Matt Gandal’s latest piece explores the states that are coupling strong advising with meaningful career exploration. https://lnkd.in/edWy4y5e

Have you ever wondered how career exploration can profoundly impact students' life trajectories? This article sheds light on the transformative influence of early career exposure, connecting educational experiences with tangible real-world prospects. Let's dive in and uncover the power of shaping future careers through early exploration! https://bit.ly/3JGPpWX

Check out Matt Gandal’s latest article on career advising for middle school students. No surprises here, but engaging students earlier in their education on career outcomes will pay off as they navigate educational choices and work towards a fulfilling career later in life!

💞 Engaging college students early makes my heart sing. Here's a great example of a how one institution made a concerted effort to get in front of their first and second-year students. What's more, Binghamton University doesn't complicate it. This program is pretty simple to replicate. Check it out: 🎯 Program goals: increase awareness of, exposure to, and engagement with career center by first year students ⭐ Year 1: Get in front of students in large gateway courses (e.g., 100-level lectures) Communicate intentionally with first years about what the career center can do for their individual goals. ⭐ Year 2: Encourage students to engage with career center through advising or workshops with the goal of establishing an action plan Work intentionally with partners on messaging and outreach, particularly with units who serve students from underrepresented backgrounds 🗝 Keys to success: 👉 The creation of an advisory board ("Early Engagement Guiding Group") made up of campus partners and #careerservices team members to support strategy and planning 👉 Collection and analysis of participation data to understand who you're missing (then you can leverage the advisory board to reach those students) Results: ✅ 43 percentage point increase in first-year student engagement in first two years, reaching 71% of the first-year population ✅ Improved perception of #careercenter by students ✅ Increase in university's career center ranking ✅ Invitation to participate in important discussions around #studentsuccess and #retention efforts Congrats to Lexie Avery who had a big hand in this effort! 👏 #careeroutcomes #careerequity #highered #higheredleadership #studentaffairs #academicaffairs

How many of us feel like we received quality career advising in school?  Experiences that exposed us to different types of jobs, helped us understand how the skills and knowledge we learned in school would apply in those real world settings, and made clear to us which high school and postsecondary pathways we would need to be on in order to open the doors to those careers? I’m guessing very few. Career advising is a major gap in our schools and making improvements—including starting to explore careers as early as middle school—could have huge payoffs for students. In my latest Forbes column, building on the new report from Education Strategy Group and American Student Assistance, I make the case for putting this work front and center in the efforts to improve our education systems.   https://lnkd.in/e75Ka25c

The college grind is cranking. Classes, assignments, work. Then "life happens" and it can run the gamut. Good, bad, ugly or awesome. How will you respond? You do not have to solve whatever life has thrown at you alone. If you live on campus, talk to your Resident Advisor (RA for short). If you live off-campus or at home, talk to staff in the Dean of Students office. These people will recommend campus resources that can help. #studentsuccess #studentaffairs #collegelife #collegesuccess #collegestudents

Have you enjoyed the tips to crush college posted the last few weeks? All posts use images straight from the college success boardgame, Success Prints Crash Course. Check it out at https://lnkd.in/gkNnZHGx #boardgames #seriousgames #boardgamegeek

Starting these conversations as early as elementary age are healthy & purposeful! Need tips & skills. Ask me how??