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William Paterson University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences is launching a new career preparation program, “Aspire,” tailored to students with liberal arts skills. Through a series of engaging activities and visits to various places of employment, Aspire will afford students the opportunity to explore their career interests and goals, as well as connect with University alumni and industry leaders.
Kara Rabbitt, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, notes that the program was developed with input from alumni and supporters on the Dean’s Advisory Board. “We know that our graduates go on to succeed in a wide range of careers, and that they bring incredibly important skills to their future professional lives from their programs of study in the humanities and social sciences,” she says. “Our alumni wanted to help current students understand how to build a professional path forward and to learn how to market what it is that they know how to do.”
Aspire kicks off on August 14 with a full docket of on-campus activities including, among other events, a presentation from Jim Duffy ’88, MA ’96 – president of the Dean’s Advisory Board – who holds degrees in English and is vice president of marketing at ADP Insurance Agency; a workshop from Caitlin Giordano, assistant director of the University’s Career Development Center, on understanding one’s career competencies and leveraging them to network and create an online persona; a photography session for students to have professional portraits taken; and a presentation from alumna Tanya Safadi ’93, who holds a degree in psychology and serves as the global head of human resources for customer proposition at Thomson Reuters.
The next day, August 15, students will travel to ADP’s Roseland, New Jersey offices for an employee panel featuring local leaders from Verizon and Toyota, a talk with the ADP human resources team, and a Q&A with guest panelists David Gordon ‘90, who doubled majored in English literature and political science at WP and is now president of the cybersecurity firm STI Group, and Blair Schleicher Bravo ’95, a liberal studies graduate at WP who is now CEO of Morris Habitat for Humanity.
“The idea for the Aspire program developed out of a desire to provide our College’s majors with better real-life preparation for the workforce,” adds Wartyna Davis, associate dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. “We have been bringing in alumni to talk with students about what they look for in hires, how to prepare for and apply to job opportunities, and how to interview, but we realized that an opportunity to visit a corporate campus and to network more broadly would be invaluable for our students in imagining and preparing for range of jobs that might fit with their skills and interests.”
Students, alumni, or industry leaders who are interested in taking part in future Aspire events are encouraged to email or call Associate Dean Davis at DavisW@wpunj.edu or 973-720-2731.
