Depicted milestones are design intentions, not attained outcome metrics.
The Four Year Career · Development before recruiting
A developmental path. Not a recruiting countdown.
A four-year career and purpose model gives students time to explore interests, understand pathways, build confidence and connections, and learn through experience before the urgency of a job search.
Vantage is a proposed architecture, not a report of an implemented cohort or achieved outcomes. Transfer and graduate students enter at the stage that fits—not automatically at “year one.”
Stage-based career education
Readiness grows before applications begin.
Learning is iterative. These stages describe development, not a rigid age, major, or class-year requirement.
Discover interests, values, and strengthsUse reflection, listening, and appropriate self-assessment to establish a starting point. Uncertainty is a reason to explore, not a deficit.
Explore majors, fields, and pathwaysConnect self-knowledge with credible career and labor-market information. Compare possibilities with faculty, advisors, alumni, and professionals.
Build foundational readinessPractice communication, decision-making, confidence, relationship-building, and responsible technology use before recruiting pressure begins.
Experiment and make meaningTry a project, shadow experience, research opportunity, or campus role. Use feedback and reflection to revisit assumptions and explain learning.
Launch, reflect, and stay connectedPrepare for employment or further study when development and timing make it relevant. Carry relationships and learning into alumni life and future transitions.
The four-year architecture
Foundations to leadership.
Year 1
Foundations
Establish identity, purpose, and the basics of career readiness while easing the transition to university.
Proposed components
Explore purpose pathways through short labs; practice digital communication and professional presence in a career-design micro-seminar.
Develop VICC, resilience, emotional readiness, and introductory AI literacy. The proposal names IBM SkillsBuild and Microsoft Copilot Essentials as possible learning components.
Connect with peer and alumni mentorship circles and contribute to small, community-oriented projects.
Milestones & evidence
A career assessment and an initial professional profile.
Informational interviews, a reflective brief, and a tentative purpose pathway.
Recognition of communication, teamwork, and professionalism through proposed badges.
Year 2
Ascent
Move from broad exploration to informed choice, deeper competencies, and an emerging portfolio.
Proposed components
Participate in faculty- and employer-led Industry Discovery Studios aligned with a purpose pathway.
Practice data storytelling, project management, negotiation, and inclusive leadership through skill sprints.
Add alumni shadowing, workplace visits, and responsible technology practice; the proposal includes Salesforce Trailhead AI/CRM learning.
Milestones & evidence
Artifacts such as case write-ups, dashboards, analyses, or creative work.
Studio participation and a shadow experience.
Reflection on technology and critical-thinking development.
Year 3
Launch
Apply learning through experience while practicing leadership and refining the professional story.
Proposed components
Pursue an internship, co-op, research, service, or community-engaged project, with reflection captured alongside the work.
Prepare for behavioral and technical interviews, negotiation, executive presence, and portfolio storytelling.
Lead a mentoring circle or student project team. The proposed credential path includes Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals and responsible AI.
Milestones & evidence
Experiential work and evidence of contribution.
An updated portfolio, professional stories, and leadership reflections.
Project conversations and relationship-building with alumni and employers.
Year 4
Leadership / Early Career
Integrate capstone work, executive mentorship, and first-destination preparation.
Proposed components
Develop an impact capstone: a venture, consulting engagement, policy proposal, product prototype, or creative portfolio.
Work with alumni executives and examine advanced career design, stakeholder engagement, ethics of AI, and impact assessment.
Prepare for employment or graduate study, and design continued coaching and mentoring after graduation.
Milestones & evidence
A stakeholder brief, capstone artifact, and reflection on learning.
An opportunity to present work through a proposed impact showcase.
First-destination tracking and continuing access to career-development relationships.
Connected portfolio overview
Four ways to put the model to work.
The same four portfolio pathways featured on Home, connected to the developmental model.
A year-long, alumni-powered design connects professional preparation, emotional readiness, job-search practice, and accountability.
Evidence to examine: action-plan progress, quality of preparation, sustained connections, and first-destination information.
Purpose pathways
Purpose is the thread. Experience makes it tangible.
The proposal organizes exploration around themes such as social impact and nonprofit leadership, corporate innovation and strategy, creative industries and media, public policy and government, entrepreneurship, health and human services, and education and advocacy.
Pathways connect interests and values to curated experiences, alumni mentors, and coaching. They are not a requirement that students commit to a fixed occupational identity.
A Career Design Studio connects personal branding through VICC, emotional readiness, AI tools, critical thinking through SOLVE, portfolios, and professional storytelling. Mentorship circles offer conversation, feedback, and perspective throughout.
Targets, credentials, integrations, and funded support require institutional agreement. No provider partnership or employment guarantee is claimed.
Segment participation
Set goals separately for first-year, new transfer, new graduate, undergraduate, and graduate populations. Examine who has not engaged, not only total attendance.
Look for learning
Use reflection, evidence of skills, pathway decisions, and a clear next action alongside activity counts and first-destination information.
Review and refine
Work with a data and analytics partner on definitions, privacy, feedback, and reporting. Review progress with staff and institutional leadership.
Pilot before scaling
Assess access and cost, refine the design with students and partners, and scale what the evidence supports.
