Speaker: Joslyn Johnson, Asst. Dean of Student Development & Career Initiatives, University of Michigan
What do you find most rewarding about the work you do?
Joslyn Johnson: What I find most rewarding about this work is the fact that we get to directly impact students for the better by increasing access to opportunities, and that takes shape in multiple ways. One way is through social capital by ensuring that students have access to our wonderful alums who are able to connect with them through mentorship opportunities. We also are able to connect students with different employers that they otherwise maybe would not have a chance to connect with and also increasing access through funding opportunities. So internships in particular we're able to provide funding for whether it is underpaid. So let's say there's an opportunity in New York. And they have a stipend, but the cost of living doesn't cover that. So we can help to, to really bridge that gap, or if there's an internship that's not paid at all, but it would be a wonderful opportunity for that student. We're able to provide funding for that. The fact that we also give students the opportunity to take a deeper dive into those questions that are really important to think about their purpose and how do they connect what they're learning in the classroom to their professional identity in the world of work. And so connecting them with our career coaches to take in some of those deeper questions, but also some of the courses that we provide through the opportunity hub that also really empowers them to do some of that work. And then even above that, it's just the staff that I get to work with. Each and every one of them truly care about students, and that within itself is very rewarding as well.
