Recently, The Graham School of Management at Saint Xavier University announced a partnership with the career advising organization CareerSpring. The partnership is meant to support first-generation college students make connections and prepare themselves for the workforce.
This announcement came several weeks ago on February 15 with the hope that this partnership will help many students at SXU. What this exactly means for SXU and its students going forward, Dean of the Graham School of Management, Dr. Mark Rosenbaum, was willing to explain.
Rosenbaum began, “[CareerSpring] is committed to helping first generation students and Pell Grant recipients obtain job information, find mentors, and discover internship and job opportunities.” He added, “First-gen students often need career assistance, and having a mentor available from a specific company may help prepare students for interviews. In addition, financially at-risk students also may need extra assistance with their career development. Mentoring, internship, and jobs are all available to at-risk students for free.”
Rosenbaum did take notes that the university will provide students with log-in information and that all services are free.
When asked how this partnership came about, Rosenbaum said, “Our business advisory council member, PricewaterhouseCoopers is a corporate sponsor, and I was informed that CareerSpring was a perfect fit for SXU.” He then added, “After I met with CareerSpring, we agreed that SXU was a perfect fit.”
On the topic of whether the GSM has done anything like this before, Rosenbaum said, “The GSM prides itself on having an active, experiential learning center, and we work to help students find internship and employment opportunities.”
Conversely, Rosenbaum had this to say when it came to what this means for the university going forward, “As Dean of the GSM, I am dedicated to helping students find meaningful employment after graduation. The CareerSpring partnership means that more SXU students can obtain meaningful employment. I’d like to see more partnerships like this in the future–partnerships that help our students find jobs and internships.”
A statement was released to the students, following the announcement for further information. The partnership added,“As part of the CareerSpring partnership, GSM students will be able to select mentors from anywhere in the United States, which is especially resourceful for students who are thinking about relocating or want to speak to a mentor involved in a specific accounting niche. Students can even meet long-term social connections via CareerSpring.”
When asked if he had anything he would like to say to the students of SXU, Dr. Rosenbaum simply said, “We are dedicated.”