Baruch College Career Services Centers Earn Top Recognitions

Baruch College Career Services Centers Earn Top Recognitions

May 7, 2025

Baruch College's Starr Career Development Center and Marxe School of Public and International Affairs received major kudos for its innovative efforts to help students get career ready.

At the 2025 Career Services Association of CUNY (CSAC) Conference, held April 10, Assistant Director Catherine Law was honored with a Best Practices Award for her "exceptional efforts to strengthen partnerships between the university, employers, and the broader community" through her role in supporting the Zicklin School of Business's Cooperative Education (Co-Op) Program.

A member of the Center's staff for more than three years, Law supports student success in multiple ways-from building meaningful employer relationships and analyzing job market trends to leading pre-professional training that prepares Baruch graduates for today's competitive workforce.

In addition to receiving 2^nd Place for Best Practices in Community & Employer Engagement at the CSAC Conference, Starr's Career-Focused Pedagogy Training & Community Brightspace Site was also awarded the 2025 Alva C. Cooper Award for Technology by the Metropolitan New York College Career Planning Officers Association.

In a congratulatory letter on behalf of the awards committee, the chair noted that voting members were "impressed" with Starr's "unique approach" and invited the Starr Development team to present at the organization's May 20 meeting.

"These awards are a testament to the creativity, dedication, and collaboration that drive our mission every day at Starr," said Director Ellen Stein.

"Our caring staff are constantly evolving programs to meet the real-world needs of our students-and it's especially rewarding to see that work recognized by our peers. Whether it's building stronger employer partnerships or equipping faculty with tools to bring career readiness into their classroom, our focus remains clear: to empower Baruch students to succeed long after graduation."

At the CASC Conference, Marxe Career Services office earned 2^nd place for Best Practices in Career Readiness Programs for its "Search Over the Summer" series, which are group sessions where Marxe graduate students and alumni support each other on the search for their next job, internship, or other professional opportunities.

Student Success is Centerpiece of Initiatives

Starr's Career-Focused Pedagogy Training & Community Brightspace Site aims to better equip undergraduate faculty from all disciplines, teaching modalities, and class sizes, in assisting students become career ready. Learn more here.

The Zicklin Business Co-Op Program is designed with students in mind. Undergraduates can alternate academic study with a semester of full-time employment, gaining practical work experience and earning income.

Before working a co-op position, students must enroll in a special one-credit professional development course. Course curriculum-created by Clemente Diaz, associate director of the Starr Career Development Center and taught by Law and other instructors-imparts career-readiness competencies that prepare students to put their best foot forward at the interviews and in their co-op positions.

According to Law, the Co-Op Program, which is managed by the Zicklin School of Business, aims to help students who are financing their education to remain on track to graduate in four years by providing them with well-paying, career-relevant positions in major companies and organizations such as Deloitte, Con Edison, and the New York City Department of Transportation.

A New Feature: Career Readiness Faculty Blog Series

The Starr Career Development Center is excited to announce the launch of its Faculty Blog Series, "This Is How I Embed Career Readiness," spotlighting Baruch faculty who have made career readiness a meaningful part of their teaching. Faculty will share how they embed career readiness into their courses and offer a glimpse into who they are beyond the syllabus. These stories aim to highlight diverse approaches, personal insights, and practical tips from across the teaching community. Read the faculty blog posts.

Navigating the 'New Normal' Workplace

Marxe Career Services started Search Over the Summer in 2022 while navigating the "new normal" workplace. The initiative provides a space for students and alumni who are searching for a job or internship to develop community on what can be a lonely or isolating process, hear what's working and what's not from peers, and build skills to better support their searches. The small group setting is effective for job search support in ways that are different from a one-to-one session.

For the second straight year, the Marxe School will incorporate AI tools into its workshops by talking about using AI for job search and introducing students to a new mock interview tool.

Since its launch, 30 out of 56 Search Over the Summer attendees have obtained an internship, fellowship, new job, or promotion. Success stories have occurred across all three graduate programs at the Marxe School, with 18 securing within six months and 12 reporting within one year of attending a session. Notable employers include FEMA, the Environmental Defense Fund, NYS Legislative Senate Fellowship, AmeriCorps/NYC Service, and CUNY Hostos Community College.

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