On Thursday, April 26 the Ursuline Alumnae Association was thrilled to welcome 30+ alumnae and professionals from our UA community onto campus for our student career day. Dr. Dena Basler McCaffrey ’88, President at Jefferson College, began the day as our keynote speaker. She spoke on finding your path and being open to new opportunities and finding your passions. After the keynote, each of our students attended three different sessions hosted by alumnae professionals in varying fields.
Earlier in the school year, students were surveyed to gauge their interests in a number of careers and where they would like to learn more. With the results of the survey, Katie Balek Kempf ’01, Ursuline’s Alumnae Relations Coordinator, began reaching out to Ursuline’s alumnae network to request speakers and presenters to discuss their career paths with current students. In each session they attended, students had the chance to engage with alumnae professionals, ask questions and learn about the specific paths, education, and skills needed to succeed in their field of interest.
The top five careers students were interested in learning about were: Medical Doctor/Nurse/Nurse Practitioner, Counseling/Psychology, Lawyer, Exercise Science/Sports Therapy, and Entrepreneurship. During the sessions, students also had the opportunity to hear from alumnae on resume dos and don’ts, important things to know for your first job, and advice for what to do if you’re unsure of a career path. The day was an overwhelming success, resulting in positive comments and feedback from students, many who shared that they learned something new and discovered a career path that they hadn’t considered before.
We are so grateful to our alumnae and the Alumnae Association for working to make this biennial day of exploration possible for our students and for sharing their expertise with our community.