Urban College of Boston Career Center Highlights
Fall 2009 – Summer 2010
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(l-r) Mike Vance, UCB Trustee and ABCD; Natascha Saunders, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Career Services and Lecturer, Boston University; Dr. Linda Edmonds Turner, UCB President; Nancy Rousseau, UCB Career Center Counselor; Ron Marlow, Assistant Secretary of Access and Opportunity, Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Mark Isenburg, VP for Workforce Development & Technology Services, ABCD, Inc. at the Urban College of Boston Career Center Grand Opening Reception on December 10, 2009. |
For the first time in its sixteenth-year history, the Urban College of Boston, launched a Career Center (CC) on November 16, 2009 with seed funding from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (ARRA), a major initiative of President Obama to create jobs and help people affected by the economic downturn.
The Center, which is run in collaboration with Action for Boston Community Development’s (ABCD) Community Coordination Department, offers a full-range of career and higher education counseling, assessment, and referral services for job placement and skills training to its students, alumni, and participants referred to the Center by other agencies.
In only eight-months, the CC, led by Nancy Rousseau along with Coordinator Erika Martinez and interns Jack Harari, Toussaint Lacoste and Patrice Spencer have provided dozens of professional development workshops to 262 participants (99 of those participants were UCB students and alumni combined); counseled over 192 and secured 38 jobs for participants in partner organizations including Bright Horizons, Tiny World Childcare, Shining Star Day Care and Geneva Avenue ABCD Head Start.
Aside from partnering with some of the ABCD networks such as the Head Start sites, the CC has also collaborated with the National Association of Health Services Executives and Eastern Bank to provide workshops on the topics of “Credit Usage” and the “Importance of Joining Professional Organizations, respectively.” Additionally, the CC staff have been conducting workshops on other various topics such as “Networking Basics & Tips,” “Salary Negotiation,” “Time Management,” “Resume Writing,” “Cover Letter Writing,” and “Interviewing Tips.” More than 75 UCB students have benefited by these workshops which have been conducted by the CC staff during class time.
From the Grand Opening Reception in December 2009 through the May 2010 speaker’s series, the CC has hosted many prominent members of the civic and business community such as Ron Marlow, Secretary for Access and Opportunity for Governor Deval Patrick’s Administration; Daryl Settles, President of D’Ventures Limited, LLC, and Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley.
Moving forward, the CC will continue to provide workshops to the ABCD SummerWorks staff and youth participants, as well as Human Resources Department throughout the summer. With over 20 UCB alumni already being served by the CC, there will be a greater effort to expand partnerships with area colleges, as well as companies, to increase opportunities to bachelor programs and job placement.
Additional information about the Career Center may be obtained by calling Nancy Rousseau at 617-348-6542 or e-mail at rousseau@urbancollege.edu or Erika Martinez at 617-348-6506 or e-mail at emartinex@urbancollege.edu. |
