The commitment of the CSUF College of Business and Economics to providing opportunities for all of its students – especially those from historically underrepresented groups – is exemplified by the new Social Capital Academy (SCA), which connects students with professional mentors who help business Titans clarify their next career steps and act to prepare for the future.
Focused on building social capital – providing actual professional connections to successful professionals as well as developing the “soft skills” necessary to build networks and pursue internships and job opportunities – the program is built around four Zoom sessions during participants’ junior year. Students connect with career mentors and career experts from across the country who are active in their industries and have a serious desire to see young professionals succeed. As part of the process, students learn how to build emotional intelligence and draw on their resilient life stories in approaching successful professionals.
This March, the SCA won an informal audience vote in a Shark Tank-inspired competition at SXSW EDU, part of the annual tech and arts conference in Austin, Texas. The SCA competed against three fellow educational startups in a session sponsored by The Chronicle for Higher Education.
“There asked some tough questions, but at the end of the day, I was really excited about what we have created, and we were very well received,” says its founder, David Obstfeld, associate professor of management.
Developing Students, Through Mentors and Experts
The College of Business and Economics is all about developing student talent, and the Social Capital Academy is a prime example of this.
“Career mentors meet with a team of three or four students during three of the four SCA sessions. These are professionals from companies like Johnson & Johnson and KPMG, executive coaches, and successful entrepreneurs. They support students by hearing their work/life stories, helping each student identify their unique assets – which we call “nuggets” – and then practice articulating those nuggets in conversations with professionals,” explains Obstfeld.
“Mentors often follow up with students between modules on Zoom. They don’t help a student study for a midterm, but they do help them think about what kind of career to pursue and help them organize next steps – like internships, clubs, and informational interviews – to take outside of the classroom. Four of our mentors are trained executive coaches, and each of them have told me that it is the most fun and rewarding kind of coaching. We have more than 25 managers from Johnson & Johnson from both the business and engineering fields.”
One such career mentor is Melia Watson, an MBA, medical device strategist and marketing leadership development manager who mentored students in both the fall 2021 and spring 2022 semesters.
Alongside the career mentors, who provide individual career advisement, career experts work with students within the program speak about specific professional paths, such as marketing or information systems.
“Our students meet with successful career experts from a minimum of two different professions and can follow up with them afterward for optional one-hour meetings,” explains Obstfeld. “These are people from IBM, KPMG, EY, Johnson & Johnson, Canon, and Disney. Students build their network, sharpen their story about what they bring to the table, and talk about concrete next steps, such as internships, LinkedIn profiles and positioning for job applications.”
The Social Capital Academy is focused on identifying students’ pre-existing resilience and developing it further for future success.
Says Obstfeld: “Most of the time, it’s helping students to feel proud of the fact that they may have often worked or took care of family while they went to school. They should practice spelling that out in a direct but low-key way to successful professionals. Today’s students are often criticized as being lazy or too coddled, but they simply don’t know our students. Our students are already tough and resilient, but they can often use a hand being reminded how tough and resilient they are, feeling proud about it, and most importantly being able to articulate that in an interview or on LinkedIn.”
Prepping Students for Internships, Then Career Jobs
Today’s juniors should already be looking for internship opportunities, and the Social Capital Academy focuses on the value of on-campus resources, such as Business Career Services and the university Career Center.
“Students get so caught up with work and their GPA that they might not come up for air to go to the Career Center until a few weeks before or after they graduate,” says Obstfeld. “We encourage students to go there sooner. We also are finding that our participating corporations are starting to support the SCA by pointing out when they have internships and how to apply. All of this leads to students who are ready for the job market at the start of senior year, confident about how to present themselves, and ready to deal with a little bit of rejection. Under those circumstances, cool, exciting career-related jobs are a natural outcome.”
For More Information
The Social Capital Academy is just one way that the College of Business and Economics seeks to empower its students, many of whom are from historically underrepresented groups and/or are the first in their families to graduate college.
Taking into consideration the unique needs of different demographics, backgrounds and career goals, the college is committed more than ever to ensuring that students have the skillsets they need to compete and thrive.
For more on the Social Capital Academy, including how you can participate as a student or how you can give back as a mentor if you are an alumna, alumnus or business professional, reach out to Obstfeld at [email protected].
