The Brennan School of Business career development program is the recipient of the Best Practices Award from the Cooperative Education and Internship Association (CEIA).
The award spotlights programs that have found innovative approaches to solving issues and problems. CEIA selected Brennan’s career development program for its curricular-based model, noting the work Career Programs and Brennan are doing and the “very significant impact it is having on [Dominican’s] student body.”
The award will be presented to Brennan’s Career Programs team during the CEIA National Conference in San Diego this April.
“To be selected for this prestigious honor amongst top-notch career development and internship programs nationwide is very special and it is humbling,” said Jamie Shaw, executive director of Career Programs and Employer Relations at Dominican University. “We have so many contributing to make our career development program a world-class program: Our full-time staff, executives in residence, Career Programs instructors, faculty partners across campus and our leadership team. I could not be any more grateful to the entire team for making this happen.”
The career development program incorporates four required courses, each one-credit hour, which students take throughout their four years at Dominican. The courses provide students with the skills and tools needed for internships and a full-time job search upon graduation. Additionally, students have an opportunity to meet with more than 35 employers through experiential activities, like mock interviews, career fairs and more, and meet with 13 executives/experts in residence for one-on-one career coaching.
The career development program also requires students to complete an internship in line with the career they hope to pursue after graduating.
The career development course model is being piloted in other majors — including informatics, health and wellness, English, computer science, criminology, and psychology — with the intention of further expansion, Shaw said. Beginning in academic year 2024-2025, the career development courses will be embedded within the Core Curriculum.
Members of the full-time Career Programs team are Shaw, Bianca Beteta (assistant director of internships and externships), Denise Guzman (STEM Career Programs and internship coordinator), Eric Borsche (assistant director of student employment and internships), and Jennifer Heard (office manager).
CEIA, a nonprofit organization, provides professional development and resources to practitioners of cooperative education and internship program management.