Program Overview
The Career Champions Program covers a variety of career-related topics designed to equip faculty, staff, students, alumni, and employer partners with the knowledge and tools to support career development.
Rather than viewing career development as the responsibility of one office, the program recognizes that meaningful student career preparation happens through an interconnected network of educators, advisors, mentors, alumni, employers, and peers. Participants learn from one another while developing practical strategies to better prepare students for lifelong career success.
Throughout five interactive sessions, participants will:
- Explore how careers, industries, and workforce expectations are evolving in an AI-enabled world.
- Understand the unique role each stakeholder plays in helping students explore career pathways and professional opportunities.
- Learn evidence-based approaches for supporting career conversations, career decision-making, and student career readiness.
- Develop strategies for connecting academic learning, experiential education, internships, research, and co-curricular experiences to real-world skills and opportunities.
- Explore strategies for embedding career development into academic and co-curricular experiences while introducing tools that help participants connect coursework, advising, and student development to evolving workforce needs.
- Gain insight into industry trends, networking, mentoring, and professional development strategies that support student success.
- Explore the use of AI tools, digital platforms, and professional branding resources that help students navigate today’s career landscape.
- Build meaningful relationships across campus and with external partners while joining a growing community committed to embedding career readiness throughout the university.
Why Is This Important?
Expanding access to career education ensures that institutions can effectively meet the evolving needs of students and the broader university community. Integrating career development into the fabric of the institution reinforces its importance and ensures that students receive consistent, informed, and equitable guidance across disciplines and touchpoints.
As student populations grow and career pathways become increasingly complex—particularly with the rapid rise of artificial intelligence and automation—providing comprehensive and scalable career support is more important than ever. Identifying and developing Career Champions allows CWRU to extend career education beyond the Center for Career Success, reaching students across a wide range of disciplines, identities, and experiences.
Based on national and institutional data, faculty and staff continue to be among the most influential sources of career guidance for students and alumni. A significant percentage of alumni report receiving meaningful career advice from faculty and staff, underscoring the importance of equipping campus partners with current tools, language, and confidence to engage in effective career conversations.
Career Champions builds on this foundation by expanding participation to include faculty, staff, students, alumni, and external professional partners. This broader ecosystem strengthens mentorship, increases access to real-world insight, and ensures that career development is a shared institutional responsibility. In addition to faculty and staff, for AY 2026–2027 the program expands to include students, alumni, and industry professionals in order to deepen mentorship opportunities and ensure career guidance reflects current workforce needs.
Program Dates and Times
The Career Champions Program will offer 10 sessions during the academic year. All sessions will be held on Fridays, 9:30–11:30 a.m.
Dates for the 2026-2027 cohort are as follows:
- Friday, Sep 18, 2026
- Friday, Oct 2, 2026
- Friday, Oct 16, 2026
- Friday, Nov 6, 2026
- Friday, Nov 20, 2026
Levels of Completion
Program participants are not required to attend all sessions, but consistent participation is encouraged to maximize learning and engagement. Recognition will be based on session attendance as follows:
- 1–2 completed sessions: Career Explorer
- 3–4 completed sessions: Career Connector
- 5 completed sessions: Career Champion
Hear From Past Participants
"The Career Champions Program was a fun and engaging way to learn about various resources and topics regarding career development that will help me support the students I work with. It was also a great way to get to know some of my colleagues better!"
"As an HR professional, I felt the topics that were covered, in each session, were current, informative and relevant for CWRU students and alumni seeking career advice."
"I really liked the diversity of the group. It is hard to find activities like this that pull people from all areas of the university into one room to share how their programs handle certain things. It is so nice to have that collective learning experience. I liked the organization of the topics and the content of the sessions. There were not too many sessions and it was a great use of time."
"I left the sessions feeling like I had real tools in my toolbox that I could immediately use in my conversations with students."