Career Design Center Reimagines Career Education at USU

With the vision to “engage every student in career education before graduation,” the Career Design Center team is building more university-wide career education, employer engagement, experiential learning, and post-graduation career opportunities into the student experience. Leading this charge and finishing his first full semester as Career Design Center executive director is Kevin Schwemmin.

"I am excited to lead the Career Design Center's efforts to reimagine career education at Utah State University through collaborative efforts that will engage every student in the career design process," Schwemmin said.

Since beginning his role at USU, Schwemmin has overseen the implementation of previously scheduled projects while also introducing new programs. One project continued by Schwemmin and his team was the incorporation of career education into the classroom, which initially rolled out in fall 2021.

The Career Design Center created a series of Canvas modules that can be inserted into any course with an emphasis on capstone courses. The Canvas modules cover resumes and cover letters, job and internship searches, interviewing strategies, and networking strategies. Each module includes an overview of the Career Design Center, the module content, an overview of the alumni experience, and assignments and quizzes that can be used with the module.

“Faculty are encouraged to utilize this tool and select the content that is most relevant to their course,” Schwemmin said.

Another project established at the beginning of the academic year and continued by Schwemmin and his team is a series of seven-week, one-credit career-preparation courses. Each course corresponds to a different level in the student experience:

• USU 1400: Exploring Majors & Careers provides students with the tools to explore major and career options in order to design a life they love.
• USU 2400: Finding & Preparing for Internships & Experiential Learning provides students with techniques and tools necessary to gain experiential opportunities relevant to their career goals.
• USU 3400: Launch Your Career provides students with tools to launch their career and transition from being a student to being a professional. Students will apply career search strategies customized for potential employers while developing and articulating competencies employers are seeking.

One student who completed USU 3400 said of the experience, “Such a simple 7-week course as this would benefit every student immensely and give them the answers and tools to help them find the career that they want for the future.”

Schwemmin also shared the Career Design Center’s plan to establish more opportunities for experiential learning in upcoming months.

“Beginning summer 2022, the Career Design Center will strengthen support for students engaged in experiential learning outside of the classroom through the creation of an Internship Coordinator Council and by increasing student awareness of micro internships from Parker Dewey,” Schwemmin said.

The Internship Coordinator Council, which will convene for the first time in May 2022, will bring together faculty and staff supporting students in a variety of experiential learning activities to share best practices and increase student engagement. Micro internships will offer students short-term, paid, professional assignments that are similar to those given to new hires or interns. These experiences typically range from 5 to 40 hours of work and enable students to demonstrate skills, explore paths, and build their networks. Both the Internship Coordinator Council and the Parker Dewey internships were established under the leadership of Schwemmin.

“Most students come to USU hoping to get an education that will allow them to get a great job,” Vice Provost Janet Anderson said. “We owe it to our students to equip them with the knowledge and skills to do this. We are thrilled to have Kevin here at USU. He brings extensive experience in implementing best practices to our USU students.”

Faculty are encouraged to connect with a career design specialist to learn more about how they can incorporate career education into their work with students. Please visit the Career Design Center website or email careerdesigncenter@usu.edu for more information.