Graduate Student Assistant, Career Services |
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When I began my MEd program, I also begin a position at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) School of Education (SOE) Office of Student Services as a Graduate Student Assistant (GSA). The Pitt SOE is largely comprised of master's and doctoral students with a small showing of undergraduate students. The Office of Student Services is relatively new and continues to develop ways to support students such as offering career advice, professional development training and resources, and graduation processing assistance.
My assignments related to Career Services were:
This position was originally a 50/50 position between Career Services and Graduate Admissions. After a year, my job was split into two 100% GSA positions, so I continued as the Graduate Admissions GSA while a new student became the Career Services GSA.
My assignments related to Career Services were:
- Developing weekly newsletters - Every week, I developed and emailed a newsletter. Each newsletter included announcements and events from our office, the School of Education in general, and Pitt broadly. Newsletters also listed various opportunities (job, internship, fellowship, grant, research, etc.) and tips related to professional development, academic success, or about Pitt and Pittsburgh. Odd weeks were aimed at master's and EdD students, who tend to be more focused on careers in the education industry and summer jobs and internships; even weeks were aimed at PhD students who tend to be more focused on careers in post-doc positions as well as research grants and assistance.
- Creating resources for diverse groups - As part of creating a more welcoming, thoughtful environment, I was assigned to make specific professional tip sheets for minoritized populations. I created an LGBTQIA sheet which discussed how to be aware of and avoid hiring discrimination and tips for professional dress for those who do not align with the gender binary. I also created a sheet fwhich included links to professional development organizations and opportunities aimed at racial and ethnic minorities.
- Planning professional development sessions - Career Services often provides sessions for students to develop professionally such as professional headshot day or networking events. I planned a presentation for learning how to use social media professionally (focusing on LinkedIn).
This position was originally a 50/50 position between Career Services and Graduate Admissions. After a year, my job was split into two 100% GSA positions, so I continued as the Graduate Admissions GSA while a new student became the Career Services GSA.
