Career and education planning at Grossmont College

Grossmont College

• Dr. Javier Ayala – Javier.Ayala@gcccd.edu
• Renee Nasori – Renee.Nasori@gcccd.edu

Grossmont College currently hosts a slew of initiatives to help students engage in the career exploration process at the very start of their postsecondary education, or to “think with the end in mind.” As they begin working to assess and refine these offerings, Grossmont seeks to emphasize programming, events, and resources that not only inform students, but energize them about their programs of study and future career prospects.

Grossmont considers this first year of career exploration reform a critical point to plan and take stock of the college’s current offerings, as well as the needs of students, faculty, and employers. By surveying these important stakeholders, the college was able to generate a deeper understanding of what types of events and opportunities are most interesting and helpful to each group. Examples of these include workshops where students can explore different majors and programs, job readiness training academies where students can earn certificates in soft skills deemed important by employers and faculty, and paid internships with community partners whose work aligns with one of Grossmont’s program offerings.

As the partnership between Grossmont’s counseling, student services, and career center has started to build on this career exploration work, the team has identified a few lessons learned that they hope will help other colleges as they initiate their own work:

• Develop strong marketing materials to make students, faculty, and employers aware of and excited for upcoming events and opportunities
• Prioritize staffing arrangements that meet the needs of evolving career exploration work
• Create data systems that allows users to easily track and reach out to students

Through this update to their career exploration services, Grossmont hopes to help students overcome barriers and anxiety that might get in the way of their ability to effectively and enthusiastically plan for the future.