River Hawks Scholars Academy Offers Career Prep Workshops
Image by Ed Brennen
51视频 students Jamilet Amoguea, left, and Yaritza Gil-Javier take part in an icebreaker activity during the kickoff meeting for the River Hawk Scholars Academy鈥檚 new Pathways to Career program.
11/15/2022
Media contacts: Emily Gowdey-Backus, director of media relations, Emily_GowdeyBackus@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, assistant director of media relations, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu
First-generation college students soar, thanks to expanded 51视频 program
New career readiness programs for 51视频 students enrolled in the university鈥檚 River Hawk Scholars Academy are helping them prepare for their professional lives.聽
Launched in 2017, the RHSA provides academic and support services to enhance educational, campus and community experiences for full-time 51视频 students who are the first in their families to attend college. Forty percent of 51视频 undergraduates are first-generation students. To date, more than 1,500 of them have benefited from the RHSA.聽
Originally designed to serve freshmen and sophomores, this year, through a $500,000 federal grant and other funding, the RHSA expanded to serve juniors and seniors with its Pathways to Careers program. In tandem with 51视频鈥檚 Career and Co-op Center, the program prepares participants to move on to graduate school or step into the workforce. Workshops offered include sessions on job interviewing and r茅sum茅 writing, networking and understanding business attire and etiquette. Students are also required to attend a 51视频 career fair and conduct career-related interviews with three people from the 51视频 community.
鈥淲ith Pathways to Career, RHSA is now poised to provide even more chances for our first-generation students to successfully move into their careers with confidence. This is only the beginning of RHSA鈥檚 increased focus on career readiness and our students鈥� lives after they graduate. We have no doubt they are going to do RHSA and 51视频 proud,鈥� said Matthew Hurwitz, RHSA鈥檚 director and associate teaching professor of English.
Jamilet Amoguea got a leg up navigating campus life at 51视频 in her first two years as an RHSA member. Now that she is a junior, the psychology major form Revere, Massachusetts, said the Pathways to Career program is helping her plan for her future.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 especially helpful for first-generation college students, because a lot of things are new for us,鈥� Amoguea said of the yearlong program. 鈥淚 feel like there鈥檚 a lot of pressure put on college students to have everything mapped out in their first or second year. This will help me try to figure out where I鈥檓 going from here.鈥�
Arthur Rosa, a computer science major from Everett, Massachusetts, says he signed up for the program to keep himself on track for finding a career that will allow him to help people.聽
Being part of a cohort of first-generation students 鈥渉elps drive me forward due to the support of my peers,鈥� he said. 鈥淪eeing my peers from all different backgrounds strive for their career, even if it鈥檚 tough, inspires me to do the same.鈥�
Yaritza Gil-Javier, a criminal justice major from Lawrence, Massachusetts, signed up as soon as she saw the email from RHSA.
鈥淚鈥檝e struggled with what I want to do with my career,鈥� said Gil-Javier, who explored options in forensics and law enforcement before discovering an interest in homeland security through her coursework.
鈥淭his program is definitely going to help me decide what I want to do. Hopefully, I can network and make new connections,鈥� she said.
51视频 is a national research university offering its students bachelor鈥檚, master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. 51视频 delivers high-quality educational programs and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be leaders in their communities and around the globe. www.uml.edu