Advisor embeds Career Readiness Toolkit into biological systems engineering curriculum

Priscilla Baker, undergraduate academic and career advisor in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering, is helping students better prepare to start their professional careers by embedding Career and Professional Development’s Career Readiness Toolkit into core engineering courses.

The initiative seeks to address a disconnect between students’ perceptions of career readiness and the expectations of their advisors and future employers. Through advising sessions and conversations with career services professionals and employers, Baker saw the need for more structured career development lessons throughout the undergraduate experience.

“The main thing I wanted to relay to our students is how much value we, as a department, place on their development as young professionals, not just as engineers,” said Baker.

After attending an Advising Matters Conference session in 2024 on embedding career content in higher education curricula, Baker, with support from department head Dwayne Edwards, began working on a plan to integrate career development materials into required courses across the biological systems engineering curriculum. 

She also reached out to Heidi Gilbert, career education specialist with Career and Professional Development, and learned that Gilbert was developing a Career Readiness Toolkit. They have been collaborating ever since, including presenting on this topic at this year’s Advising Matters conference.

The toolkit, part of Career and Professional Development’s Career Everywhere initiative, helps to ensure students are prepared academically and with the professional competencies needed to succeed in the workforce. It includes interactive modules, ready-to-use assignments, and customizable activities that faculty can adapt to their courses. 

Baker used a mix of class lectures, toolkit modules, quizzes, and tailored assignments to help students learn about resume writing, career fair prep, professional competencies, networking platforms, interviewing, job search strategies, and salary negotiation. She found that many upper-level students had missed earlier opportunities for professional development and welcomed the information.

“This is turning into a real game changer for our students,” said Edwards. “Ms. Baker’s initiative is significantly elevating our students’ professional competitiveness, not only for their first job, but also for internships and other opportunities that we know are critical. It’s an excellent solution to a longstanding challenge.”

For Career and Professional Development, the toolkit’s impact is already evident. In fall 2024, 345 students across all majors accessed module content and 399 participated in facilitated activities. Faculty engagement also grew with 69 faculty and staff across more than 32 departments requesting access to the toolkit. Of those, 58 percent are using the resources in their classes. 

In total, the toolkit has now been accessed by more than 80 faculty members, indicating growing interest and reach across the university. Looking forward, the team will continue to expand the toolkit offerings, Gilbert said.

“Many career centers send their staff into the classroom to do presentations – we love doing that and we will continue to deliver engaging classroom presentations,” said Matthew Cowley, associate vice provost for Career and Professional Development (CPD). “The Career Readiness Toolkit, however, empowers faculty to integrate career into their curriculum on their own terms, leveraging high-quality content developed by CPD that can be embedded directly into their existing Canvas courses. 

“To bolster the post-graduate success of every Virginia Tech student, career readiness must not only be the purview of Career and Professional Development. We believe that career development occurs in numerous ways across campus, and we are grateful to provide a resource that advances this important work,” Cowley said.