Boston University’s Senior Year Career Development course celebrates its fourth birthday this week. The course, also known as SY101, offers seniors in the College of Arts and Sciences professional guidance and prepares them for the real world.
“A lot of the things that are done in SY101 are offered at the Center for Career Development,” said Stacy Ulrich, the director of CAS Student Programs and Leadership. “But when it was designed into a class, students appeared to be more receptive to that format because it was more structured.”
Staff members from the CCD teach the course, which runs for half of the semester. The course is essentially broken down into three sections, including “self-discovery, exploring careers and developing skills,” Ulrich said.
From SY101, CAS students gain a better understanding of career paths, dive into specific career fields and learn how to build LinkedIn profiles, she added.
“SY101 is just for CAS students because a lot of the schools and colleges have their sort of career centers,” Ulrich said. “And their jobs are going to be a little more specific in the professional schools than it is in CAS. [SY101 is] catered just for students getting a liberal arts degree.”
SY101’s sister course, the First Year Experience class, also aims to enrich the student experience — only this time the audience is different.
Approximately 900 freshmen and transfer students signed up for FY101 to “adjust to college and excel academically,” Ulrich said. In fact, many students learned about opportunities like SY101 because they took FY101 when they first entered BU, she said.
Led by BU administrators and upperclassmen peer leaders, FY101 focuses on introducing students to the university and easing their transition into the BU community and Boston as a whole, according to BU’s website.
Savanna Illinger, a peer mentor for FY101 and a CAS senior, said FY101’s purpose is to help new students create connections with their surroundings.
“The class is mainly about building connections and helping such a large school feel a bit smaller,” Illinger said. “We take them out into the city to give them a jumping off point for exploration beyond campus life.”
Caren Stuebe, a senior in CAS, said she took FY101 her freshman year and benefited from the class structure.
“We met every week and had an activity geared at connecting us to some aspect of campus,”Stuebe said. There were also weekend trips and outings so you could meet other freshman and explore Boston.”
Despite the difference in audience, another main difference is that FY101 classes meet in person, while SY101 offers both online and in person. Understanding that seniors’ schedules can be packed, Ulrich said students can choose to take the online course via Blackboard and meet with CCD staff during appointments.
“During in-person [SY101] class, you get to develop a relationship with the career counselors in the CCD, and they will lead you through all of these activities that will help you in the future,” Ulrich said.
Both courses have received positive responses from administrators and students. Many students take FY101, then become peer mentors and end their BU career with SY101, said Lola Adeosun, a junior in CAS.
“I wanted to be a peer mentor because I love working with students,” Adeosun, an FY101 peer mentor and a student ambassador for the CCD, said. “I wanted another extracurricular that would allow me to interact with students, but on an even more personal level.”
