A trip to the FBI building in Newark to learn about potential career paths. A stop at a Devils game to see the interaction of spots and business – and the jobs that come with it. A mock business dinner, where students not only learn etiquette but how to network over a meal.
The Career Center at Seton Hall is proud to sponsor all of these events – often with corporate support.
And while some are connected to various communities – one was held during Black History Month another was entitled empowerHER – Career Center Director Jorge E. Rivera always makes one thing perfectly clear to students, teachers and corporate sponsors: These events are open to all.
At a time when DEI programs are under fire around the country and throughout higher ed, Rivera makes sure programs at Seton Hall concentrate on the “I” – or inclusion.
For Rivera, it’s about helping students learn all the things they need to know to get a job.
“We make it very clear, this is for everyone, period,” he said. “We need to help students – whether it be through job shadows or internships or just the art of networking and interviewing – how to succeed.”
Rivera said inclusion takes work.
“We want to make sure that when we say ‘Everybody,’ that means we work to include everybody,” he said. “There are students who may not have the same opportunity. Maybe they are commuter students. Maybe they have a full-time job. We need to find them and make sure they are taking advantage of these opportunities.”
Rivera admits, there is one community that needs extra help – and gets extra support: First-generation students.
“Students whose parent or guardian did not go to college, may not come to campus with a knowledge of what you need to do to get a job or even an internship,” he said. “We meet plenty of students like that and we’re happy to help.”
The help comes in big ways and small.
Field trips to the Prudential Center – where more than three dozen students recently got a meet and greet with team officials, a meal and a chance to take in a game – are great. But they are not possible for everyone.
That’s why Rivera and the Career Center have created shorter events – on campus – too.
“We call them snack-and-learns,” he said. “We found that even a 60-minute presentation was too much for many, so we created 20-minute snack and learns, where they have an opportunity to quickly interact with a potential employer – or just to find out more about what the Career Center and the school has to offer.
“We often talk about the importance of joining clubs on campus – and how those create an opportunity to learn how to network. We’re trying to show students that if you want to be a part of the workforce, you first start by being a part of our campus community.”
Rivera, who has been in the lead role at the Career Center since 2022, said it’s about meeting students where they are.
It’s part of the reason the school went from having two major career fairs a school year to one career fair in the fall and three career expos in the spring – with the later providing an opportunity to not only be sector specific (say, health care), but offering a chance to show that all sectors require all types of majors.
“The more times are students can interact with businesses the better,” he said.
Rivera said he feels fortunate that representatives from the Stillman School of Business and so many employers in the area are eager to help make that happen.
He lists longtime partners Enterprise, EY, Deloitte, KPMG, Hackensack Meridian Health, Goya, Withum, Techtronic Industries and even Major League Baseball as longtime supporters. And he’s thrilled to welcome Charles Schwab and Blue Owl Capital as recent partners.
“We want to be there for the students – all students,” he said.
