For the past two years, WashU students in the Educational Studies capstone course have engaged with the CCE for a “Networking for Success” workshop facilitated by Ahmar Ursani, Career Coach. The course features opportunities for students to hear directly from leaders working across various educational roles, and this presentation helps them understand how to reach out and further cultivate professional relationships with these speakers and others. Ursani also helped students articulate the value of their research and coursework to potential employers and contacts as well as reflect on what matters to them about their major.
 
Building a professional network can feel ambiguous and intimidating to students at times. Breaking down why it’s important and how to approach it can go a long way in encouraging students to take that next step. Lisa Gilbert, Senior Lecturer in Education and Career Innovation Faculty Fellow, shared, “Our students have greatly appreciated Ahmar’s ability to demystify the career process. Especially in a Capstone class, where students are just about to graduate and might be feeling the normal stress of navigating their first steps beyond our campus, Ahmar’s guidance has been particularly reassuring.” 

In the post-presentation reflection assignment, Arielle Goldman, LA ’26, connects the importance of establishing collaborative relationships for policy work and creating positive change. Goldman writes, “The course ‘Politics of Education’ and Ahmar’s visit has shown me that networking is an essential tool for broad scale change to occur regarding education.” 

If you or a colleague in your department is interested in implementing a similar seminar to support students as they build their professional network, please contact a member of the Academic Partnership team to discuss next steps. You can also submit a career program request form for the upcoming academic year here.