Environmental Career Networking Event

EcoTopic / Project Category

Community & Environmental Education, Education & Awareness

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Project Goal Summary

The purpose of this project was to connect college students to representatives from environmental organizations in the Denver area. Students from Metropolitan State University and University of Colorado Denver were able to network with organizations that they would like to work for in the near or far future. The event was structured around a speed networking activity where students met one-on-one with each organization for about four minutes and then rotated to the next organization. These one-on-one discussions gave students opportunities to learn about prospective jobs, internships, volunteer opportunities, and gain advice from professionals within the environmental sector. The goal of this project was to help students connect with the environmental sector, learn from professionals currently active in the environmental industry, and help students prepare for networking and marketing themselves with professionals.
Organizations that attended included:

National Wildlife Federation - Rocky Mountain Region
United States Fish and Wildlife Services
Sierra Club
Peace Corps
Mile High Youth Corps
Waste Management
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Vector Disease Control International
Colorado Wildlife Federation

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Project Location

Denver, 80206
United States

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Project Goals and News

What is the challenge your project is designed to address?

Many students graduate and enter the work force with little professional experience and even less experience networking or marketing their skills. This project was designed to give students practice networking through a fast-paced, structured networking activity where students participating are required to mingle and conversed with all professionals present. Along with increasing students networking skills, this project was meant to give students a leg-up in knowing environmental professionals outside of applying for a job or another work setting. This project addressed students interactions with the environmental work force.

- How do you propose to impact the challenge?

This project impact the above challenges by being a way for students to meet and mingle with environmental organizations, instead of putting together a job fair. Normally with job fairs students are nervous and organizations have very little time with multiple applicants. Most organizations did not have a job to offer so instead their was less pressure on students and more time to interact about possible jobs in the future or volunteer opportunities to get to know the organization more. This also added a mentoring component since students got to talk to representatives that are currently in the position they would like to have in the near future.

- How will you measure progress or success?

Success of the event was measured by number of attendees, number of organizations that participated, students participation level during the speed networking activity, and student testimony of the activity following the event.

-What has been successful?

Nine organizations participated, 20 students participated in the speed-networking, and 30 students attended the event overall. Students were actively participating during the activity. After the activity, all student verbal testimonies were positive, and appreciated the opportunities the speed-networking activity provided.

- What has been challenging?

It was challenging to book organizations to attend the event. It was also challenging to manage the speed-networking activity, i.e. people had a hard time hearing when to switch resulting in students spending more time at one station than another.

- Which groups are involved in your project - students, faculty, staff, community groups?

Students of both Metropolitan State University, University of Colorado Denver, the Colorado Wildlife Federation Club, Community groups, NWF Career Center Manager, and some faculty.

- How is it being funded?

This project was financially sponsored by NWF and the Student General Assembly of the Auraria Campus.

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Tag Your Project

#environmentalcareers #econetworking

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What other social media platforms is your project active on?

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/events/1300503830027444/?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%2223%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D

Project Materials and Documents

File #1