For the past 11 years, the UC Berkeley SAGE Scholars Program has been successful in creating and implementing experiential learning programs for its low-income undergraduate population. We’d like to share these successful programs with your organization and also have the SAGE Scholars be role models for your students. Some of the programs we’ve developed are:
- Personal money management
- Networking and the “elevator” pitch
- the Personal Bio
- Functional vs. Chronological resumes
- Power of the Informational Interview
- Out-of-the-box thinking for obtaining jobs and careers
Students are being told to stay in school, but are students going to be inspired and encouraged to lead? While working at UC Berkeley with a small group of students (who are all from poor or very low-income backgrounds) we are seeing how important it is for students to see the connection between their education and the “real” world.
Since we’ve been working with the SAGE Scholars using experiential learning and getting students to go outside the “norm” of traditional careers, it’s so exciting to see those “aha” moments when someone can identify what it is they want to do rather than what career they can fit in to. How can graduates create their jobs, and have the professionalism they need and really be excited about what they do every day?
Through informational interviews, interactive workshops, and the use of interactive exercises, we aim to empower students to “let go” of what’s traditional and take the leap into what excites them, while creating a meaningful work life, and getting paid for what they really want to do with their lives.
