By Brad Rudner
When Collin DeShaw was done diving collegiately, he came to a crossroads. It is the same intersection that every student eventually arrives at.
"Now what?"
Only a small fraction of student-athletes will have careers in professional sports. For the overwhelming majority, the "real world" awaits after graduation.
In DeShaw's possession was an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Michigan. That in and of itself will open doors. But as far as deciding which road to take in life, that was more confounding. It is a massive, life-altering decision.
That's where the Michigan Athletics Career Center (MACC) stepped in. Leadership development and career preparation is one of the seven pillars of the Champions Fund, an investment of unprecedented support in the most meaningful areas for student-athletes at the University of Michigan. The other six pillars are athletic counseling, nutrition, athletic medicine, international travel, strength and conditioning and recruiting.
The Career Center is a one-of-a-kind venture that is unique to University of Michigan student-athletes. Few other colleges across the country have the kind of resources dedicated to career preparation that Michigan does.
For DeShaw, their guidance proved to be instrumental.
"More than getting a job, it was about finding the next step in my life," said DeShaw, an alum of the men's swimming and diving program who graduated in 2019. "I had to figure out what my options were. They helped me hone in on the skills I was good at, and how I could apply that to different jobs and positions."
For student-athletes, internships can be difficult to secure due to the time commitments they have between their sport and their studies. DeShaw was looking for a company that was willing to work with his schedule, albeit on a shorter timetable than most internships last. The Career Center found an employer flexible enough to bridge the gap.
After graduating, he worked an internship at Encompass Capital, a small hedge fund on Wall Street in New York City.
"The Career Center gave me the skills, the preparation and the tools to land that kind of job," said DeShaw. "I wouldn't have had that opportunity otherwise."
Following the internship, DeShaw returned to Ann Arbor where he enrolled into the Master of Management program at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business. The Career Center helped him with the essays required to get into the program.
Offering guidance to student-athletes on their respective postgraduate paths is only a fraction of what the Career Center does. Helmed by Maurice Washington, the MACC guides student-athletes along their journeys using four tenants of development: engaging, educating, connecting and experience.
How do they do it? The MACC website lays it out:
- Meet student-athletes wherever they are on their career journey.
- Help students to identify their strengths, interests and eventually an ideal major -- leading to their desired career path.
- Design programming to reflect the latest trends and best practices in career preparation.
- Connect our student-athletes to the largest living alumni in the world.
- Partner with over 500 companies and mentors to provide our student-athletes with job shadowing, internship and job opportunities.
The Career Center has more than 750 corporate partners and host upwards of 25 yearly career events and workshops. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of recent graduates found full-time jobs.
The staff at the MACC offers guidance and support to student-athletes as they prepare for their careers when their time at Michigan comes to a close.
Even in the age of COVID-19, when the number of in-person meetings have fallen off dramatically and the workplace landscape has undergone significant change, the Career Center is adapting, continually finding ways to connect student-athletes with prospective employers. Their 2020 Career Kickoff was held virtually over Zoom on Oct. 7 with more than 50 companies participating.
Take DeShaw as an example. His first interaction came as a freshmen when he popped in for "office hours." A group of 10-15 students were learning the basics of a resume and how to start one from scratch. There were also workshops on LinkedIn and interview preparation.
"It was a good way to get your foot in the door," he said. "Freshmen aren't always thinking about what to do after college at that point in their lives. Those workshops help you start to build a foundation professionally."
DeShaw said he visited the Career Center a few times each semester, though those visits became more frequent as graduation approached. One of the advantages is its physical location, perched on the second floor of the Ross Academic Center. The staff make themselves available throughout all hours of the day, but especially in the evening when students are more likely to be in the building meeting with their advisors or completing their coursework.
Today, DeShaw lives in Iowa City, Iowa, working as a financial analyst for Whirlpool. He is in the first year of a three-year financial development program, working out of a refrigeration factory in the nearby Amana Colonies. He will stay there for a year before moving back to the company's headquarters in Benton Harbor, Mich.
DeShaw says he would not be where he is without the guidance and support from the Career Center.
"It's one of the most important services that Michigan Athletics provides," DeShaw said. "Being a student-athlete only lasts four years. The Career Center is one of the most essential keys to growing into yourself as a professional outside of sport. They help you make that transition into the future."
The Champions Challenge is a fundraising campaign that aims to reinforce critical support areas for student-athletes at the University of Michigan, including counseling, career and leadership development, nutrition, athletic medicine, strength and conditioning, and recruiting. More than 20 percent of the Michigan Athletics annual operating budget comes from private philanthropic donations.
With rising costs and the significant financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Champions Challenge campaign comes at a time when the sustainability of these programs is very much at risk. Without the support of our generous donors, Michigan Athletics would not be able to comprehensively support our more than 900 student-athletes.
To learn more about the Champions Challenge, visit MGoBlue.com/challenge.
"assistance" - Google News
October 22, 2020 at 11:49PM
https://ift.tt/3dQbKRa
DeShaw Uses UM Athletics Career Center Assistance to Plot Postgraduate Path - MGoBlue
"assistance" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2Ne4zX9
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "DeShaw Uses UM Athletics Career Center Assistance to Plot Postgraduate Path - MGoBlue"
Post a Comment