The events feature employer partners who share an overview of their organization, facilitate an interactive activity, and create space for authentic conversations in a relaxed, informal setting. Through these interactions, student-athletes gain practical insights into industry expectations, learn strategies for becoming competitive candidates, and begin building valuable professional relationships.
“It made me realize that I should put more time into getting internships and gaining more experience in my field other than schooling,” football’s Michael Hershey said. “The Career Night was a fun and enjoyable time to network and meet new people.”
Maryland Made’s Career Nights are intentionally structured to support student-athletes who may not participate in cohort-based programming, while still providing consistent and accessible touchpoints with Maryland Made.
“Going to Career Nights exposes you to potential job opportunities and gives lower-stake chances to talk with real professionals,” McKennie said. “As someone who really doesn’t know exactly what they want to do, going to this helped me see what paths are really there and how I can get into them. All the people that came were Smith grads, so being able to actually see myself in this career was amazing.”