The School of Communications and Journalism is officially the first whole department to become Career Champions.
On Thursday, August 20, 2026, I had the opportunity to facilitate a Career Champions Workshop with faculty and staff from the School of Communications and Journalism. Their participation in this initiative reflects a deep commitment to preparing students not only for academic success, but also for meaningful careers after graduation.
The department has already made significant progress in integrating career development into the student experience. One of the highlights of the workshop was hearing faculty discuss the creative and thoughtful ways they are connecting course content to career pathways and employability. Through assignments such as mock newsroom group projects, public speaking, focus on business communications, and a host of other real-world scenarios, the faculty works intentionally to bring workplace practices into the classroom. Our conversations highlighted a shared commitment to helping students articulate their skills, recognize their professional growth, and confidently tell their stories to future employers. It was an engaging and inspiring discussion, and I am grateful for their enthusiasm, collaboration, and action demonstrated by everyone involved.
The faculty have mapped the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Career Readiness Competencies to their departmental learning outcomes and have aligned many course assignments with those competencies. This work ensures that students are not only mastering disciplinary knowledge but are also intentionally developing the skills employers consistently identify as essential for workplace success. By connecting coursework and assignments to these competencies, faculty help students recognize the value of what they are learning and better articulate their skills to employers, graduate schools, and internship supervisors. Rather than viewing career readiness as something that happens outside the classroom, the School of Communications and Journalism is demonstrating how career preparation can be embedded directly into the academic experience. This intentional alignment helps students understand not only what they have learned, but also how those experiences have prepared them to contribute effectively in professional settings and pursue a wide range of career pathways.
The NACE competencies provide a common language for career readiness, focusing on areas such as communication, critical thinking, teamwork, leadership, professionalism, technology, and career and self-development. For a discipline like communications and journalism, these competencies are naturally woven throughout the curriculum, from developing strong written and oral communication skills to collaborating on projects, analyzing complex information, and adapting to rapidly changing media environments.
I also want to express my deep gratitude to Josh Westwick for his leadership and commitment to this work. Our planning for this initiative began in February, when we first discussed creating a department-wide Career Champions experience. Josh immediately recognized the value of intentionally embedding career readiness throughout the curriculum and helped build momentum among faculty and staff.
The School of Communications and Journalism has demonstrated that preparing students for career success is most effective when it is embraced by an entire department. I look forward to seeing the continued impact of this work on students and to partnering with other departments as they pursue the Career Champion designation.
