12:00-3:30 p.m.

SOAR Check-In,  CCPD

4:00-4:30 p.m.

Connection before Content, MCC Ballrooms
This interactive welcome activity will introduce you to your fellow Summiteers and teach you to create genuine, memorable conversations.

4:30-5:15 p.m.

Opening Keynote
MCC Ballrooms
Ana Clara Blesso, University of Connecticut Graduate School of Business

5:15-5:30 p.m.

 Introductions to SOAR Leaders, MCC Ballrooms

5:30-5:45 p.m.

Pick up dinner, outside MCC Ballrooms

5:45-7:00 p.m.

Developing Your Brand to Tell Your Story, MCC Ballrooms
Professor Andy Ross, Department of Economics & Business
You’ve learned about the importance of creating connection. Now we get more specific: introducing yourself and communicating your value. And who better to teach you how to market yourself than marketing professors? Prepare and rehearse your “60-second commercial” for tomorrow’s Career Community dinner.

Group Photo in SOAR t-shirts, MCC Atrium

8:30-8:45 a.m.

Check-in / Pick up Breakfast, outside MCC Ballrooms

8:45-9:00 a.m.

Welcome and Warm-Up, MCC Ballrooms
SOAR Leaders
Start the day right with some connection before content.

9:00-10:00 a.m.

Introducing Internships, MCC Ballrooms
Employer panel
Internships, research, and other hands-on experiences build career-readiness skills and your network, and let you “test drive” careers. Hear from a panel of employers about the value of internships, how they recruit for them, and what they’re looking for in interns.

10:00-10:15 a.m.

Break

10:15-11:15 a.m.

Increasing Your Social Capital: Leverage PirateConnect and LinkedIn, MCC Ballrooms
Caden Cox ’23
Learn to use essential tools to grow your professional network, which opens doors to opportunities! Bring your laptop and get started creating your perpetual career commercials.

11:15-11:30 a.m.

Break / Pick up lunch, outside MCC Ballrooms

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Lunch and Roundtable Sessions, (20-minute rotations, pick up to three topics), MCC Ballrooms

Exploring AI for Career Leverage 
Caden Cox ’22, CreatorIQ
Learn tips for ethically and productively leveraging generative AI for your career planning.

Exploring Grad School and SOAR 
Discuss how the skills you learn at SOAR are still completely applicable if you have aspirations of pursuing graduate education before entering the world of work full-time.

Exploring Financial Literacy
Explore topics of personal finance as they relate to planning for internships and eventual jobs. 

Exploring Academic Internships and the Funded Internship Program 
Mary Claire Angle ’07, Director of Internship Programs
Learn how you can earn academic credit for internships and take advantage of the Funded Internship Program, which offsets the cost of unpaid or low-paid internships.

Exploring Personal Narrative Writing 
Maurice Wilson, Director of the Professor John Score Learning Commons
Begin practicing the challenging - but potentially very rewarding - art of writing about yourself. Applying for competitive scholarships and fellowships, as well as some internships, jobs and graduate programs, will require you to write compellingly about your experiences, skills, and identity. The more you put in the reps, the better your writing will become.

Exploring Professionalism 
Alex Garcia Ellis, Career & Professional Development Coordinator
Business attire, professional communication, accountability, effective workplace relationships - there are many skills you need and develop on the job. Get your toolbox of professional skills started!

Exploring COMPASS (Table 10)
Liana Collins ’24, Career & Professional Development Coordinator
Learn how you can get involved in leveraging the powerful Pirate network through SU’s alumni-student networking and shadowing program.

12:30-12:45 p.m.

Break

12:45-2:00 p.m.

Effective Internship and Job Search Strategies, MCC Ballrooms
Bring your laptop for this working session where you will learn how to strategically and efficiently search for internships and jobs using tools like Handshake, Indeed and more.

2:00-2:15 p.m.

Break

2:15-3:15  p.m.

Resumes & Cover Letters, MCC Ballrooms
Employer panel
Test your knowledge of resume and cover letter principles and begin tailoring your self-marketing materials for internships, shadowing, research, jobs, graduate/professional school, scholarships, etc. Bring your laptop to work on your resume.

3:15-3:30 p.m.

Break

3:30-4:30 p.m.

Interviewing Skills, MCC Ballrooms
CCPD Team, SOAR Leaders, and employer guests
Get ready for your starring role! Learn the basics of interviewing, perform your “best self” in small-group practice interviews, and give and receive feedback.

4:30-5:00 p.m.

Break

5:00-6:30 p.m.

Career Communities Dinner, MCC Ballrooms
Put your new connecting skills into practice as you meet alumni and other professionals from the world of work. Learn about occupations and get career development advice through interactive small group discussion and Q&A.

6:30-700 p.m.

Reflections and Next Steps, MCC Ballrooms