Students Boost Confidence with Career and Academic Planning

All across campus, St. John Fisher University creates opportunities for students to find success. The hub of those activities is the Center for Career and Academic Planning (CCAP).

Located on the main level of Lavery Library, CCAP offers an integrated approach to academic and career success at Fisher and families can be the foremost influencers on students choosing pathways to achieve their goals. CCAP recommends directing your learner toward getting a jumpstart on their career and academic planning very early (first-year is not too soon!). Need some conversation starters? Read on!

First, ask your student if they’ve acquainted themselves with CCAP, which can assist them with everything from course selection, changing a major, accessing tutoring support, applying and searching for internships, résumé creation, interview practice, graduate school applications, and more.

Second, mention some of the great tools available so they can help themselves. Encourage your student to use career tools provided to them: Handshake, Cardinal Connections, and FOCUS2 are starting points. Handshake particularly is essential for locating jobs and internships, and learning about employer recruitment days.

Third, encourage selective campus involvement. It’s easy to over-commit, so encourage your learner to choose a small number of out-of-class activities, such as a sport or intramural team, a social community-building club, or a service group. Volunteering and involvement with campus activities can build important social connections and skills that employers want.

For first-years and sophomores, CCAP has developed documents titled Academic Pathways to help with the long-range planning of a selected major. Fisher has created a “map” for every major, so students can anticipate when they will take required courses, when they will have room for electives (like internships), and the ways they might be able to double major or pick up a minor.

For all students, CCAP suggests locating and using campus resources such as the Student Tutoring site to make appointments with the Math and Writing Centers. If a student anticipates a struggle in a particular course (because they have looked at the Academic Pathway), connecting to support is the first step to success. FisherLink is the easiest point of entry to find and get assistance.

Finally, encourage students to build their network. From faculty to campus job supervisors to coaches and alumni, learning how to network is essential to success both academically or professionally. Visiting professors during office hours, volunteering in the community, working a part-time job or internship, and joining a club all add up to great networking!

For more academic planning and career exploration resources, visit CCAP on the web.