Loyola University Maryland’s Rizzo Career Center received a 2024 Career Innovation Award from The Career Leadership Collective. The award, which celebrates “unique and impactful career development initiatives,” recognized Loyola’s efforts to increase first-year student engagement with the Career Center.
“As Loyola’s student body evolves and diversifies, we need more than ever to reach first-year students with the Career Center’s tools and resources,” said Christina J. Spearman, Ed.D., assistant vice president for career development. “We built a program to help first-year students explore and discern their career paths and begin to develop the skills for a successful job search and professional life.”
The Rizzo Career Center developed an interactive workshop integrated into Loyola’s Messina, an immersive program to help first-year students build community and adjust to college. The new “Starting Your Career Journey with the Rizzo Career Center” workshop introduces students to the center and resources to support their career development. After completing the introductory workshop, students can return and participate in workshops that explore majors and careers, teach resume writing, and assess career interests.
This year, 81.6% of Loyola’s first-year students engaged with the Career Center in large part through their participation in the new workshop.
“Messina groups brought their students to our workshops, and we received extremely positive feedback from students, faculty, and staff. We are extremely happy to have interacted with so many first-year students,” Spearman said. “On top of that, to be recognized by The Career Leadership Collective means a great deal. We’re looking forward to continuing to refine and implement the program into the future.”
The Career Leadership Collective is a consulting group for colleges and universities that helps administrators and career leaders weave career and future preparation into the campus experience.
