Buffs From Scripps Leadership And Career Development Participate In Pac-12 Networking Event
March 08, 2021 | General, Neill Woelk, Scripps Leadership & Career Development
BOULDER — Finding ways to provide career development opportunities for college students in the midst of a pandemic has not been an easy task.
But Pac-12 schools last week created a unique opportunity for their student-athletes by hosting a conference-wide online networking event that brought together 45 companies from around the nation with 222 Pac-12 student-athletes.
That number included 34 Colorado Buffaloes from the Scripps Leadership and Career Development Program, tying with Oregon for the most representatives from any school.
Lauren Unrein, Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Leadership and Career Development for CU Athletics, said the event came about as a result of student-athlete development directors from around the Pac-12 working together to create a conference-wide initiative. Student-athletes participated in two breakout room sessions with companies in their field of interest, with Pac-12 Vice President of Human Resources Anna Roberts introducing both sessions.
A wide variety of businesses were represented, ranging from tech companies to medical firms, nonprofits and the FBI. But Unrein stressed that the event was more than just a job or internship fair.
"It was really an opportunity for student-athletes to practice their story-telling about themselves and understanding how to leverage their student-athlete experience," Unrein said. "How to interview, how to maximize things like Linked-In, how to tailor your resume. Skills they can sharpen and use as they get more into the process of moving on to their next careers."
CU's Scripps Leadership and Career Development Program, entering its fourth year, is headed by Dave Callan. It was formed to provide support resources and opportunities for student-athletes to help them explore and pursue careers and achieve long-term success.
Last week's events had student-athletes from nearly every CU sport, from freshmen to seniors.
"We wanted to make it a networking and fact-finding opportunity for all student-athletes," Unrein said. "Participating companies had a wide range of reasons to participate – some were looking to hire full-time positions or have summer internships, while others were there to share more on their specific company and increase awareness around that career path or industry. For student-athletes, having that range of interests with companies allowed them to really explore those different paths and help them match their interests to careers"Â
The Scripps Leadership and Career Development Program has been steadily growing each year. While the Covid-19 pandemic has no doubt created some unprecedented obstacles, the program is continuing to find creative ways to provide opportunities for CU's student-athletes.
"I think the event was a great way to connect and meet professionals in the industries that interested me," said Sam Noyer, a quarterback on CU's football team. "It was insightful and helped me better understand positions and opportunities in the future."
Last week's event was such a success that the Pac-12 hopes to make it an annual affair.
 "We had really positive feedback from the employers and student-athletes," Unrein said. "It's definitely something we will try to implement on an annual basis."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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