LaGuardia’s “Level Up” Career Success Summit Offers Students Tips and Resources for Career Readiness

LONG ISLAND CITY, NY (May 29, 2024) — Career readiness in education refers to curriculum and lessons that prepare students to enter the workforce. This includes ensuring students have transferable knowledge, skills, and attributes to support students’ future careers.

On May 8, LaGuardia Community College/CUNY hosted more than 200 students, staff, and faculty who gathered for its Inaugural “Level Up” Career Success Summit, designed to offer resources and guidance for career readiness.

As part of the Summit, a Career Success Carousel, offered students an opportunity to collect information about resource providers on campus dedicated to career readiness, including LaGuardia CARES, the Center for Career and Professional Development, LaGuardia Student Success Mentors, and CUNY EDGE.

The event was coordinated by Dr. Jason Hendrickson, Co-Chair, Faculty and Staff of Color Collective and Professor in the Department of English; Tameka Battle, Professor of Health Sciences, Deputy Chair of Health Sciences; Maureen Doyle, Associate Professor of Health Sciences; and the LaGuardia 2023-2024 Career Success Fellows.

“With more than 200 participants on a day that featured several college-wide events, we were thrilled with the turnout and level of participation,”  said Dr. Hendrickson.”The multifaceted event gave students a chance to directly engage with service providers on campus, including CUNY EDGE, CCPD, LaGuardia CARES, our Peer Advisors and Student Success Mentors, the LaGuardia Humanitarian Initiative, the Campus Library, the CUNY Fatherhood Academy, The President’s Society, Campus Life, and many more. We are indebted to these partners, as well as to the roundtable participants – Jocelyn Carrasco, Alyssa Soler, Yenitza Jones, Hendryx Silva, Lesly Gomez, Shakur Burden, Govindi Singh, and Samantha Ortiz – who spoke candidly about their experiences as LaGuardia students, faculty, and alumni.”

During the Summit Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Billie Gastic Rosado, shared remarks and discussed the current integration of Career Success work into LaGuardia’s strategic plan.

Other offices and departments participated offering guidance and resources to students. The Center for Career and Professional Development offered tips on how to create a professional profile on LinkedIn and how to create a resume. The LaGuardia Student Success Mentors shared information on how access career prep by applying for open positions at the college. The LaGuardia Humanitarian Initiative offered students the opportunity to learn about experiential learning and community engagement experiences. The LaGuardia Peer Advisor Academy, shared employment opportunities at the college for mentorship to build important career readiness skills; and the LaGuardia Cares Initiative, presented information on tax preparation and MetroCard services for students, as well as resources for students vulnerable to food insecurity and housing instability.

Former chair of the English Department, Dr. Gordon Tapper, shared his findings from his research that showed comparable earnings for English and Humanities majors over time. Dr. Tapper recently co-authored the MLA Report on “English Majors’ Career Preparation and Outcomes.” Librarian Charles Keyes, shared resources on the library website to help students conduct career exploration and research.

The Summit also included a roundtable discussion featuring eight LaGuardia students and alumni. The discussion focused on how they transitioned to the workforce, the preparation they received while at the college, and the resources at and beyond the college that were integral to their success.

“We hope attendees came away with an understanding that there is an abundance of avenues one can go down for assistance and professional development at LaGuardia,” said Dr. Doyle. “In the future, we hope to have faculty-focused events that will enhance classroom practice and curriculum design without compromising the important research and dynamic teaching styles that set apart our faculty. We also hope to expand the scope of our work to include community partners and provide professional development opportunities for those who want to embed career readiness principles into their work, be it as a staff member or faculty member.  We seek to continue to engage our hardworking staff in this area and to lift up the crucial nature of their efforts. Finally, we hope that students came away better prepared and more empowered as they navigate their academic journey.”

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LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC), a Hispanic-Serving Institution, located in Long Island City, Queens offers more than 50 degrees and certificates, and more than 65 continuing education programs to educate New Yorkers seeking new skills and careers. As an institution of the City University of New York (CUNY), the College reflects the legacy of our namesake, Fiorello H. LaGuardia, the former NYC mayor beloved for his advocacy of underserved populations. Since 1971, LaGuardia’s academic programs and support services have advanced the socioeconomic mobility of students while providing them with access to a high quality, affordable college education.

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