Your student’s best bridge to the job world

By Cari DuBois-Wright

Whether your student is looking for career-enhancing activities this summer (yes, there’s still time!) or is mapping out a years-long strategy for post-collegiate success, I strongly recommend taking advantage of the fabulous resources offered by our Internship and Career Center (ICC).

The ICC has not missed a beat in helping students during this past year of mostly online learning, offering an array of virtual services including appointments with a career advisor, review of resumes, cover letters and other documents, workshops, information sessions, and internship opportunities. The Center is holding its next Start-up Internship and Career Fair on May 7 (registration opens April 28).

Research shows that the earlier students connect with ICC, the likelier they are to graduate with a career-track job in place. The Center offers students a “pathway for success” with a different focus each year:

• Freshman—Self-discovery
• Sophomore—Expand Your Career Horizons
• Junior—Test Options
• Senior—Time to Make Decisions

Students can hop onto this pathway any time during their undergraduate education, even if they were not on board from the outset.

Many parents want their students to identify and pursue their career goals as part and parcel of their undergraduate experience—which is why I speak with parents a lot about Aggie Launch, one of the “Big Ideas” UC Davis is pursuing as part of our campus-wide “Expect Greater” fundraising campaign.

Building upon the ICC’s decades of experience and expertise, Aggie Launch will prepare all students for the work world through customized career exploration. The goal is to integrate career-exploration curricula and phased professional development into every student’s pathway, whether their goal is employment or entry into a selective graduate or professional program.

As parents, you can play a big role in helping UC Davis move toward this vision, to the benefit of your own student and countless others besides. I am looking to partner with parents within their corporations and other organizations to:

• Provide mentorship
• Support internships, co-ops, and other opportunities for students to gain experience
• Invest in technology and staff expertise that would expand students’ professional development
• Launch comprehensive career-preparation programs
• Help develop their organization as a recruiter/employer of UC Davis graduates

Philanthropy supporting the ICC and Aggie Launch helps create a robust pipeline of future leaders who can improve lives in our communities here at home and around the world.

Feel free to contact me any time to make a gift in support of either of these programs or to help create opportunities for our students. And I’m always eager to provide or find answers to any questions you may have.

A world of opportunity awaits our students. Let’s take advantage of the incredible resource we have in ICC and the vision of Aggie Launch!

For more information about how parent giving makes a difference in students’ lives, contact Cari DuBois-Wright, Associate Director of Development in Parent Giving, at caduboiswright@ucdavis.edu, 510-388-3605. You can visit our Parents Fund website here as well as learn more about our Family Fellows.

You can learn more here about Aggie Launch and the Internship and Career Center.